Check Yes Juliet
by Vi908
Summary: Due to her parents' sabbatical, Juliet is forced to leave behind her whole life and move across the country to La Push for a year. Juliet tries not to grow too close to anyone, knowing she'll just have to leave soon, but Paul makes that very hard on her.
1. The One Where They Move to La Push

Hello, Everyone! Thank you for reading my new story, _Check Yes Juliet. _I've really missed writing _Twilight _fanfiction, and I encourage you guys (if you haven't already) to go ready my other stories, _Save the Last Dance _and _Dancing Through Life_. This story, however, has nothing to do with either of those.

This is an imprint story, and I'm really excited about everyone reading this! I hope that you guys enjoy! Please review, too. Reviewing is a big thing for me, and I feel much more encouraged to continue writing and posting on my stories when people review and let me know that they actually like what I'm writing, so please review! Anways, on to the story.

Hope you enjoy!

Vi908

An- I don't own _The Twilight Saga _or Wake Forest University or Starbucks or a lot of other things.

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Moving to a new city is always difficult, especially when you have to move all the way to the other side of the country. But by this time, I was used to it. Moving has always been part of my life. My parents are Literature professors at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and, every few years or so, they both take a sabbatical to write a new book which always leads to us moving somewhere strange like Minnesota or Illinois or Utah for a whole year. However, this time is different. It is my senior year of high school, and my parents are making me pick up my whole life and move cross-country to Washington, the home of Starbucks and lots and lots of rain. We aren't even moving to the cool part of Washington, Seattle. We are moving to some small Indian Reservation called La Push where the Quileute Indians lived. I have never even heard of the Quileute Indians before. Needless to say, I am less than thrilled.

It is my senior year of high school, for God's sake. I don't want to move all the way across the country. I had spent the last 5 years in one place and had made friends that I wasn't interested in leaving, especially my best friend Allie. The thought of all of my friends having fun senior year, going to football games and parties and to the movies, while I am in some frozen, rainy wasteland all by myself made me bawl my eyes out.

"I know you're mad at us, Juliet, but you have to eat something," My mother, Charlotte, said as we sat in the red booth at a small diner on our way to La Push. My parents had insisted on driving all the way there; it was supposed to be some type of "family bonding" something or other. Whatever. Nothing can make me enjoy this.

"If I'm going to live in another state and have to start over somewhere else, I'm at least going to be skinny," I said bitterly. My mother shot me a look, telling me I was treading over thin ice. I was just joking anyways. I liked food too much to stop eating, and I was already thin enough. My parents forced me to order a basket of fries.

"I can't wait till we get there," My father, Greg, said giddily. That was my dad for you. He was always overly excited about something. To him, everything was some new adventure to be discovered or enjoyed. My dad was quite an optimist.

"What's so special about this La Push place anyways?" My brother asked as he took a big bite of his hamburger. Trust my brother Heath to not have paid attention the past 3 days we've been travelling and listening to my parents go on and on about the "amazing legends" of the Quileute people. Heath (short for Heathcliff, and yes my parents have a thing for naming their kids after characters from famous literature) is 19 and two years older than me. He should have been attending college this year, but, unfortunately for me, he would be coming with us to Washington because he didn't have the grades to get in to any colleges on the East Coast. He would be going to some community college nearby where we lived.

My mom glared at Heath—she likes to do that a lot. "Heathcliff, don't chew with your mouth open. It is bad manners."

Heath took another bite of his hamburger and chewed with his mouth open just to spite her. Obviously, I was the good child in our family. My parents continued to talk about our new home while Heath and I sat, eating the rest of our meal in silence. I was miserable already, and I could only imagine how much worse it would get.

"We better get a move on if we want to make it to La Push soon," My dad dropped few bills on the table and we once more got in our car and headed towards La Push.

It was another 3 hours before we arrived in La Push, and the car ride had left me restless and ready to get out and stretch my legs. When I saw the sign welcoming us to our destination, I took in the dark green surroundings. Trees and all types of lush vegetation were all around us. It was sort of…beautiful. If I hadn't been so determined to hate everything about La Push, I might have actually really liked it.

La Push was very small so it pretty easy to find the house we would be renting this year. The house wasn't very impressive on the outside, just a one-story gray house with blue shutters on the outside and a cute little porch, but it was very homey and cozy. The whole house just radiated warmth, from the black leather couch to the soft rug on the floor to the large fire place. My room was smaller than my one back home in North Carolina, but I liked it. As an incentive to not act like a complete brat during our stay in Washington, my parents allowed me to pick out all new furniture and things for my room. My new room was a soft, pale yellow with pretty white furniture. It was very clean and happy and old-fashioned; it was very me.

Our things from home had already been shipped to our new house and were all sitting in boxes in the living room. My mom, not being able to deal with clutter, immediately started unpacking, but my dad relaxed into the couch with his laptop. Heath and I both stood around, not knowing exactly what to do. Heath didn't have much stuff packed away, and I didn't plan on really unpacking much, knowing that when I did unpack it, I would just have to pack it back anyways in a year. That was the thing about sabbatical. It only lasted for a year so by the time you got used to living somewhere new for a whole year, it was time to move back home.

"Why don't you two go out and explore around?" My dad suggested to Heath and I. "There are some really pretty sights out there."

Heath and I were both less than interested, but we decided to go anyways. We would have to learn to get around La Push sooner or later, so why not now? We both grabbed rain jackets as it had started to drizzle slightly and set off on a little trek through La Push.

What we had seen of La Push on our drive to our house had really been all of La Push. Honestly, there wasn't much to see. There were a few little stores in the little "town" area, but it was mostly trees and beach. After walking around for about half an hour and watching the sun go down, Heath and I found ourselves down on the beach, which wasn't your typical tourist location. This beach, which according to the sign I could see, was First Beach, and there were many rocks and dunes sticking up all over the place. From what I could tell, the water was probably freezing even though it was summertime. I wasn't about to go stick my toes in to find out.

"Well, this is fun," I said dully, plopping down to a sitting position on the sand. Heath joined me and we sat in silence, watching the dark water go in and out with the tide.

"I hate this place already," Heath broke the silence. He wasn't looking at me, just observing our surroundings.

"Ditto," I replied shortly. "Maybe we should go back soon. It's dark and I want to go home and call Allie and tell her how miserable I am."

Heath ignored me before pointing off into the distance. "Hey, Jules, look! There are some people. I think they're having a party."

"Oh," I strained my eyes in the darkness trying to see them, but then someone lit a big bonfire and I could definitely see them. "Cool. I was beginning to think that we were the only people that lived in La Push."

"Let's go join their party," Heath said, getting up off the ground and brushing the sand off of his clothes. I stayed put on the sand where I was.

"No, Heath," I rolled my eyes. "We don't know them, and they could be sketchy or weird or something. They probably don't want some random kids showing up at their party anyways."

Heath turned around and grabbed my hand, pulling me up off the ground quickly without my consent. "Stop being such a loser. They don't even have to know we're there. Besides, it looks like there are enough people for us to slip in and out unnoticed. I hope they have some beer…"

"Oh no, Mister, I will not be dragging your sorry, drunk ass home to Mom and Dad tonight," I reprimanded my older brother. I always felt like the older sibling in most situations. Heath wasn't exactly the picture of responsibility. His hard partying was one reason that he didn't have the grades to get into a real college.

"I'll only have one drink," He dragged me over towards the bonfire where a lot of people were congregating. "Come on, just one to take the edge off. You should have one, too, Sis. It'll probably be easier on you when you take that stick out of your ass if you do."

I sneered at my older brother. He could be such a jerk, but that was part of his whole persona. That was just Heath, and it was something, just like moving, I had gotten used to a long time ago. It's not like we didn't love each other. We just argued. It was our thing.

When we got closer, I realized it was going to be a whole lot harder to blend in that Heath had originally thought it was going to be. First of all, most everyone around us was huge and at least a foot and a half taller than my 5'1 frame. Secondly, they were all Quileute. Mine and Heath's pale coloring just stood out like a sore thumb.

"I kind of forgot that everyone around here was Quileute," Heath whispered as we walked through all of the people that were staring at us.

"Nice going," I replied sarcastically. Truthfully, I hadn't thought of that little fact either. I guess most people who live on an Indian Reservation are Native Americans. This was going to make school interesting.

As we continued to walk through the crowd of people, most of whom were watching us warily, a Quileute girl around my age wondered over to us. "Hi, I'm Kim. You two look like you're lost. Are you guys tourists?"

"Oh, hello, I'm Juliet Hudson and this is my brother Heathcliff. We're not tourists; we just moved here and we are kind of lost. We didn't mean to intrude on your party," I told a slight lie. I didn't want them to think that we'd tried to crash their party even though that's exactly what we tried to do. Heath shot me a look for calling him by his full name—he hated it and that was just why I did it.

"So you two are new to town?" Kim smiled friendly. She was genuinely pretty, in a girl-next-door type of way with dark silky hair and russet colored skin. "Why don't you guys stay for the bonfire? That way you two can get to know everyone."

Heath immediately responded that he would love to stay, but I was a little reluctant. I was never one to barge right into a room full of people I didn't know, and I was kind of anxious to get home and talk to my friends.

"Oh, please, Juliet," Kim said excitedly, still smiling brightly, "please stay! I love meeting new people, but I never really get the chance to."

"Alright," I gave in, smiling slightly. Kim was pretty persuasive, and I couldn't say no. I would have to make some friends in La Push even though I didn't really want to become too attached to the place or anyone that lived here. "I'll stay for a little while."

"Great!" Kim smiled even bigger, if that was possible. "Come on, I'll introduce you to some more people. I just have a feeling that you're going to get along well with everyone."

Kim was about 6 inches taller than me so, like Heath, it was easy for her to drag me around like a little doll. I could tell she was enjoying introducing me to all of her friends. So far I had met Jared, Kim's gorgeous boyfriend who was absolutely in love with her, and his also gorgeous friends, Embry, Brady, and Quil. They were all really funny and sweet. I figured there must have been something in the water in La Push because every single guy I could see near me was very tall, unnaturally muscular, and good-looking.

"Looks like my brother has found the beer," I remarked to the people I had just met. I felt unusually comfortable around them, usual for strangers that is.

"Wow, He sure knows how to put one back," Brady laughed as Heath was the center of attention in a circle of guys yelling 'chug.' I rolled my eyes and sighed at my older brother's antics.

"It's sure going to be fun getting him home tonight without my parents finding out his wasted tonight," I started thinking of a plan, hoping that my parents would be asleep before we got back.

"Well, I can give you a lift back to your house," Kim placed her hand on my arm kindly. "That way it'll be a little bit easier on you."

"Thanks, Kim," I smiled. Kim reminded me a lot of Allie. They looked nothing alike; Allie had short, curly blonde hair and grey eyes. Their personalities were very similar, though. Both Allie and Kim were very friendly and sweet. Kim could never replace Allie, but at least I could find someone like her in La Push.

"Hey, Jared!" Some more guys were coming our way from down the beach and these guys were half-naked.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as three shirtless guys walked our way, all talking loudly and horse playing around with each other. Like Jared, Embry, Brady, and Quil, these guys were also very good-looking, tall, and definitely muscular with what looked like eight-pack abs. It took all I had to act alive and not drool.

"Jared, who's this?" One of the three guys asked, referring to me. I'm sure I was beet red at the attention on me.

"Guys, this is Juliet Hudson, and that guy funneling beer over there is her brother, Heath. They're new to town," Jared explained. "Juliet, this is Seth, Colin, and Paul."

I waved shyly and self-consciously to them acknowledging all three of them. When I looked at Paul though, he was already staring at me very strangely, like no one had ever done before. At first I thought that I might have had something on my face, and I turned to look at Kim, hoping she would let me know if I did that way I could walk off and die of mortification, but Kim was looking at Paul. In fact, everyone was looking at Paul except for me, and Paul was staring at me. This was very weird indeed.

While everyone was entering into a staring contest, I took the time to examine Paul. Paul was very tall, almost freakishly so, but he wasn't gangly in any way. He was definitely built, with muscles rippling all down his body, and I couldn't deny that I wasn't attracted to him. He had cropped, silky black hair and a very manly face with warm brown eyes. He was very handsome, in my opinion at least.

"Uh, hi," I said, trying to break the awkward silence that was stifling the group. Kim was now whispering with Jared secretly, and I couldn't make out a word they were saying. I had a feeling that it was about me though.

Paul blinked a few times at the sound of my voice before clearing his voice. "Hi."

'," Heath came behind me and screamed in my ear, his nasty alcohol breath on my neck and speech slurring. "I thin' we shou' go home nowww."

Leave it to Heath to be the one to break the awkward tension building. I grabbed my brother's arm to keep him from falling over into the sand. "I think you might be right, Heath. Kim, could you give me that ride now?"

"Yeah," Kim glanced over towards Paul when she answered my question. Something was going on, I could tell, but I wasn't quite sure what.

I put my arm around Heath's waist as Kim directed me to where her car was located. Heath leaned most of his weight against me, and I tried not to collapse under it while he continued to sputter out drunken nonsense.

"Bye, guys," I waved with my free hand to all the new people I had met tonight. Everyone else waved back, including Paul but he still seemed like he was off in his own little world, staring at me like I was the only girl he had seen in his whole life.

Kim said goodbye to Jared; they were very sweet together, almost sickeningly so. Kim, Heath, and I then started heading towards her car, a black Nissan Sentra. We were pretty close to the car when I heard Paul's voice calling out to us or to me specifically.

"Juliet! Juliet, wait!" He was quickly running towards us in all of his shirtless glory, and it was quite a sight to behold.

"Paul, what are—?" Kim started talking, but Paul held up his hand to silence her.

"I just wanted to formally introduce myself," He came closer to me, very close. "I'm Paul."

I giggled quietly and Paul watched me attentively, seemingly mesmerized by something about how I was acting. "I know that."

"I, um," He rubbed his large, russet colored hand through the hair on the back of his head, clearly grasping for something to say, "I, uh, just wanted to say hi, so well, hi."

"Well, I have to go, so bye," I smiled slightly. Paul froze for a moment, and I worried that maybe I was being rude. I wasn't exactly trying to stand around and talk to the guy.

"Bye," He breathed. Kim, Heath, and I then got in her car and pulled out of the parking lot by the beach.

The ride back to my house was very short, with Heath moaning and groaning in the backseat of the Kim's car about nothing. Kim and I laughed at my brother, but we didn't really talk about anything during the car ride. It seemed like Kim had something on her mind, and I didn't want to disturb her. When we pulled up in the drive way at my new house, Kim programed her cellphone number into my phone, telling me to call her and that we would hang out some more during the summer.

"I think everyone liked you, Juliet," Kim smiled. "Especially Paul."

"Yeah, he was kind of….strange," I replied as she helped me get Heath out of the backseat of her car. "But nice. He was nice."

"You think he's cute, don't you?" She laughed, and I didn't answer. I'm sure that my silence was more than enough of an answer for Kim. She looked at me knowingly.

"Well, Kim, it's been real," I said, leading Heath up the porch and to the front door. None of the lights in the house were on so I was hoping my parents were already asleep in their room. "I'll call you some time."

"Good," Kim stared at me smiling for another moment before getting in her car and driving off.

I led Heath inside the house and into his room. He was coherent enough to plop down on his bed, and I put a trashcan beside the bed just in case he would need to throw up later. Heath could handle his alcohol pretty well so I wasn't too worried about him. I left Heath's room and entered my own room, and put on a pair of old pajamas that I loved. After taking my contacts out and washing my face, I laid down in my new bed and started reflecting on my day.

It had been a strange day to sum it up. Here I was in La Push, meeting new people and living in a new house. Sure, I had done this plenty of times with my family, thanks to my parents' jobs, but something was different about this place. Something was different about La Push and then people in it. I liked them, maybe too much. I didn't need to get too attached to these people. After all, I was just going to have to leave again in a year. So I decided that it was okay to make friends, but I didn't need to build close relationships with them. What I didn't expect to see when I closed my eyes, however, was Paul's face.

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Well, hope you like! **Please review**!


	2. They One Where They Skype

Thanks so much to all of my readers, and especially to my reviewers **cc **and **Kate**! You two rock! I would like to see some more reviews though...

Anyways, if y'all would like to know how I picture some of my characters here you go:

Juliet: She's such an Alexis Bledel to me-very Rory Gilmore.

Heath: Steven R. McQueen _is_ Heath. Like to the 'T.'

Kim: Selena Gomez because she's just so darn cute, and that's how I see Kim.

All of the characters from the Wolf Pack, like Leah and Jared and Paul, I love the way they were casted and I really couldn't be any happier with them!

So, without further ado, here is chapter 2!

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The days went by very slowly in La Push, Washington. What had felt like months to me had only been in reality a few days. I was miserable, and the stupid, rainy weather was just making my disposition even worse. Rain and I had never really gotten along. Needless to say, I had stayed inside for most of my time in La Push, and there wasn't much to do. After reading book after book to keep myself from dying of complete boredom, I had finally finished all of the books I had brought with me from North Carolina. I was a fast reader. My mother offered to loan me some of her books to read, but her books uninterested me—they were all about Quileute legends and the history of the tribe. I didn't want to read any of that.

"This place is so weird," I whined as my best friend, Allie, and I skyped on our laptops. Seeing each other, even though it wasn't in person, was much better than talking on the phone. "I wish I was back home."

Allie smiled sympathetically, her honey blonde hair in a bouncing in a high ponytail on top of her cute head. "I'm sorry, Juliet. I wish you were here, too. Home hasn't really been the same without you if it makes you feel any better."

It did make me feel a touch better. At least my friends missed me as much as I missed them, but I doubt they had as much time to sit around and think about it as I did.

"I can't believe you haven't met any cool new people," Allie commented. She wasn't used to moving or being the new kid in town the way I was. To Allie, moving was a way to start over, and be whoever you wanted to be, not who you actually were.

"I did meet this one girl named Kim," I told Allie. "Heath and I kinda crashed a party our first night in town, and she was there and introduced us to some of her boyfriend and his friends. They were really hot, but strange."

Allie giggled. "Hot, but strange? I think that's a good combination. Did anyone of them stand out to you? You got a boyfriend you aren't telling me about?"

"Well there was this one guy named Paul…"

"Ooh, Paul. Tell me more about this Paul fellow."

I sighed, blowing a piece on my bangs into the air. Allie was probably going to blow the Paul situation way out of proportion. "He's a starer, Al. He stares. Weirdly. Like, the moment I met him, he started staring at me, and he didn't really stop until I left."

"Well, he's hot isn't he?" Allie questioned me. In the video, I could see her painting her fingernails hot pink as she talked to me.

I nodded.

"Jules, hot totally trumps strange. I say you go for it, and jump his bones," Allie said nonchalantly, like this was the kind of conversation we had every day. "It can just be a fling, nothing serious. Don't you want to have a little fun while you're away? Plus, it'll be a great story to tell our girlfriends when you come home. Elizabeth will be so jealous that you hooked up with some hot native guy."

"You're such a whore," I laughed at Allie's crazy idea, and she rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to leave you. I'm going to a little get together tonight."

"Is Paul the hot, but strange guy going to be there?" Allie screamed before I hung up our video chat on her. She would get over it.

Kim had called me a few days after Heath and I had interrupted her friends' party. I hadn't actually intended on calling her unless I ever got really desperately bored, but since she called me, I couldn't ignore her or screen her calls. That would have just been rude. Anyways, Kim had invited Heath and I to join her on Saturday night at 7 o'clock to watch movies at Embry Call's house with her and some of the other people I met my first night in town. I was a little reluctant to go, but Heath and my parents had pretty much forced me to tell Kim that I would be going. Heath wanted to go because he thought Kim was hot (even though he had no chance in Hell because Kim's boyfriend was ten times better looking than Heath was), and my parents wanted Heath and I out of the house so they could have some "alone time," as they called it.

"Jules, do you think I should wear the blue polo tonight?" Heath held up a sky blue polo to his body with his left hand as he stood in the doorway of my room, uninvited. Another polo, a dark brown one, was in his right hand. "Or does it just clash with the color of my eyes? Cause you know, they're blue, too."

"Heath, I don't really care, and I don't think anyone else will either," I rolled my eyes as I picked through my own closet to find something decent to wear. It wasn't like I didn't care how Heath or I looked, but, in my opinion, there wasn't anyone to really impress. Kim was way out of Heath's league.

"What's wrong with you?" Heath sauntered up to me, sounding ready to pick a fight. "You look like one unhappy girl."

"I'm fine," I sighed. Truthfully, I just wanted to be at home in North Carolina, but there was no use in complaining about it to Heath. We weren't going home, and he would just make fun of me. "Wear the brown one."

"Really? I don't especially care for this one—." My brother asked, taking a close look at the brown polo shirt held up to his body in the mirror hanging on my door.

"Heath, the blue one makes you look fat."

Heath looked taken aback for a split second before he sneered at me, and walked out of my bedroom door. I chuckled for a moment before going back to my closet to pick out an outfit. After rifling through all of my clothes for about five minutes, I decided on wearing a pair of my favorite dark wash jeans that made my butt look great, a plain coral colored top, and a soft cheetah print cardigan that I loved along with a pair of ballet flats. The outfit was cute and comfortable, just the way I liked things.

"Mom, can we take the car?" Heath asked after the two of us had finished getting ready. Neither of us had a car with us in La Push. Heath had totaled his last car, a white Nissan Altima, and my parents refused to get him a new one until he started being more responsible. My car, a cute little red VW Bug convertible, had been left at home to be shipped to us once we had settled in, but hopefully I would have it before school started so I wouldn't have to ride the bus.

"Only if Juliet drives," My mom answered, handing me the keys to her black Volvo xc90 SUV. I was a much safer driver than Heath; he was reckless when he got behind the wheel of a car. "And be careful. The roads are wet. Who all is going to be at this "thing" anyways? Will there be alcohol there? Do you need Dad or me to drop you off?"

"Charlotte, leave the kids alone," My dad laughed from his seat on the leather couch in the living room. "They need to have some fun around here."

My mom 'hmph-ed' before going back to reading a Quileute symbols book while sitting at the bar in the kitchen. I loved my mom, but she was a little uptight; Heath always joked and said I got my personality from here even though I defiantly protested at the suggestion every time it was brought up.

"Thanks, Dad," I went and kissed my dad on the cheek. I had always been a Daddy's girl, but I was thankful to him for getting my mom off mine and Heath's back. "We won't be out too late."

Heath and I got in the Volvo and followed the directions Kim had given to Embry Call's house. Embry's house wasn't too far away from our house, just like most everything else in town. We could have even walked to Embry's house if we had wanted to. It was a small cabin style house that looked similar to many houses in the La Push. Kim's car was parked on the street in front of the house as well as another car I didn't recognize.

"I can't believe Mom made us bring her nasty brownies," I whispered, holding a try of burnt-looking brownies in my hands, as Heath and I walked to the front door. "We should have just thrown them out the window on our way here."

"Those things aren't even edible," Heath examined them closer. Our mom, God bless her, wasn't much of a cook even though she tried to be.

Embry answered the door after we knocked and graciously let us into his home where we found that Kim, Jared, Seth, Colin, Quil, and Brady were there. Lounging in a recliner was another girl, but I hadn't met her at the party. While Kim was the girl-next-door type, girl was very exotic. She had perfect copper colored skin, a statuesque, model like body, and her dark hair was cut in a short pixie cute. However, the look on this girl's face was the complete opposite of Kim's smiling face; this new girl looked almost as if she'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Hey, drunk guy!" Brady called out to Heath loudly. Heath waved at the huge guy sheepishly. I wasn't sure if Heath even remembered how he had acted the first night we were in town. If he did, he hadn't mentioned anything to me about it. "You guys brought brownies. Sweet."

"Trust me," I threw the brownies in the first trash can I saw. "You don't want to eat these."

"Juliet, this is Leah Clearwater, Seth's older sister," Kim introduced me to the girl I didn't recognize. The girl nodded in my direction, but she didn't respond to me very friendly. "Leah, this is Juliet Hudson, she's new to town, and that's her brother Heath."

"So you're the girl who has Paul acting all strange?" Leah looked me in the eyes, a knowing smirk on her gorgeous face.

I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Paul had acted peculiar, but it was kind of awkward to be asked a question about some guy I didn't really know. "Um, yeah, I guess…"

"Speaking of the devil, I think Paul is here, Juliet," Kim said a little too excitedly, and I had a bad feeling she was going to try to hook me up with Paul the hot, but strange guy. "Hey, Paul! Over here!"

Bad thoughts ran through my head as Paul, who was walking our way looking just as hot and acting just as strange. He was already staring at me, but not as bad as the last time I saw him. I could tell he was making an effort not to seem weird to me. Maybe Kim had told him that I thought he was kind of odd.

"Uh, hey," I was the only one Paul even acknowledged out of us three girls that were standing in the corner of Embry's living room. Paul even knew Leah and Kim better than he knew me, yet he didn't even say, or look, at the two of them.

"Hello," I responded somewhat shyly. I wasn't really used to huge, good looking guys like Paul staring at me like I was the only girl in the world.

Kim perked up, pretending like she heard something but Paul and I both knew she hadn't. "Oh, Leah I think Embry just called our name from the kitchen. We should go see what he wants."

Kim grabbed Leah, who didn't resist, by the arm and dragged her to where I assumed the kitchen was, leaving me alone with Paul. Well, technically we weren't alone since there will people all around us, but Paul was the only person besides me in the little corner Kim, Leah, and I had been standing in. I would have to remember to say something to Kim about this later.

"How have you been enjoying La Push?" Paul's question took me off guard for a moment. I wasn't sure if I should answer him truthfully or say what I was sure he wanted to hear.

Ah, whatever. There was no use in lying to the guy. "It's been pretty crappy."

Of course, Paul acted the complete opposite of how I expected him to act. I had thought he would try to act like he was sorry or pity me for having to move so far at such an inconvenient time, but no. Paul laughed at me.

"What is so funny?" I asked, confused at his response.

"I could kind of tell you weren't enjoying yourself," Paul smiled, and his whole face lit up. I had thought he'd been handsome before, but when he smiled, he was even more gorgeous. For some reason out of my body's control, my heart skipped a beat.

"Is it that obvious?" I cringed, both at how my response to La Push probably looked to the town's natives and my body's reaction to Paul's smile.

"Don't worry, I'm the only one who has noticed," Paul reassured me. "I'm pretty observant when it comes to people."

"Yo, Paul, Juliet, we're about to start watching the movie," Colin called out, interrupting our conversation. Heath stood beside him on the other side of the room staring at Paul and me.

Everyone was making their way into the living room to sit down and watch the movie as Embry popped the DVD into the DVD player. I sat down on the sofa between Paul and Kim, who was on the other side of Jared. Jared and Paul were both so massive that they took up most of the sofa leaving all of us pretty squished together, but not uncomfortably so.

"What movie are we watching?" I asked Kim, but she shrugged her shoulders.

"We're watching _Saw_," Embry grinned. I could have screamed in terror if it wasn't for all the people around. I absolutely hated horror movies with the passion of a thousand white hot suns.

"Hey, are you okay?" Paul placed his large hand softly on my shoulder, a concerned look coloring his handsome face. "Juliet?"

"Yeah," I was shocked by his touch. His hand was so warm, unnaturally so. I literally felt like his hand was burning the skin on my back where his hand was touching. As if he realized exactly what I was thinking, Paul removed his hand from my shoulder quickly. It had been there a little too long for normal contact. "I just don't like scary movies."

"Oh," Paul cleared his throat quietly. He seemed a little shaken up to me, but I couldn't be sure if he was or not since I barely knew him.

Kim, Heath, and I spent the whole movie jumping and flinching and screaming at every little thing that happened while all of the big strong guys and Leah didn't wince one time. They even managed to laugh at some of the goriest parts of the movie while Kim and I were buried in each other's lap, trying not to see the scene that was going on before us. Heath tried to act like Paul and Jared and the other guys did, but he couldn't take the gore either. He just stared at the screen in horror.

I caught Paul many times looking like he was going to reach his hand over to grab mine or comfort me in some way during the movie. He looked torn and confused, but he never went through with anything that he looked like he was going to do. It was kind of sweet actually, in a weird way.

"Well, I'm not going to sleep tonight," I said after the movie had ended. The last scary movie I had seen kept my up for a week straight almost. Hopefully I would be able to get my mind on something else when I got home tonight so I could forget about the movie I had just seen.

"Me either," Kim nodded her head vigorously; she was holding on to Jared's huge hand like it was her life line, but her tight grip on his hand didn't seem to faze him at all. "Is your brother okay?"

Heath was sitting on the floor, his face paler than usual. He was obviously scared out of his mind. It looked like he wouldn't be sleeping tonight either. Maybe we could stay up all night watching _Boy Meets World_ like we used to do when we were young. _Boy Meets World _could always help me get my mind off of things.

"Probably not, but he'll live," I shrugged before looking at the clock. It was 10:45. "We should probably be getting home soon. It's getting kind of late."

"I'll walk you to your car," Paul piped up, saying something for the first time since the movie ended. "You know, if you want me to."

"Sure," I smiled slightly. The attention, while a bit much, was kind of nice. Maybe Allie was right, and I should hook up with Paul. He did seem sweet, and he was definitely hot. There would be no harm in at least kissing the guy as long as I made it clear that it was just a fling, nothing serious.

Heath jumpily took the keys and went and cranked the Volvo while I said good-bye to everyone. Kim hugged me kindly, and I smiled thankful for her being so kind to me. Leah even acknowledged me while I said bye to her. I hadn't even expected her to. I also thanked Embry for letting me come over because it was his house and all; he just smiled.

My brother was already in the car sitting in the passenger seat when Paul walked me outside. The cool summer air was refreshing after being so near to hot (literally and figuratively) Paul for the whole night. Paul was very close to me as we made our way to the Volvo, but not close enough to touch.

"Thanks for walking me to my car. You didn't really have to," I tucked a piece of my wavy light brown hair behind my ear that had escaped my half-ponytail.

"I know," Paul replied and smiled faintly as he stared at me thoughtfully. He closed his warm chocolate eyes for a moment, breathing out calmly. "Would it be too forward of me to ask for your phone number?"

I shook my head no, and he got out his cell phone and I quickly programmed my number into his phone. "Should I get your number, too?"

"No, you won't have to worry about that," Paul smiled again, but brightly this time. "You'll have it soon enough."

I was just about to ask what he meant, but Heath honked the horn and rolled down his window. "Hey, dude, I like you and all, but if you touch my sister, I'm going to have to get out of this car and kick your ass."

I tried to keep my giggling down to a minimum so Heath wouldn't get offended, but Paul and I both knew that Heath couldn't kick Paul's ass in any way, shape, or form. "Sorry about my brother. He's just a little overprotective."

"It's okay, I understand exactly where he's coming from," Paul was pensive again. He showed his emotions clearly on his face.

"I better get going," I moved towards the car door. "Well, good-bye, Paul."

"Bye, Juliet," Paul opened the door for me, and I got in the car and drove towards home. I was definitely starting to think that Allie was right.

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_**REVIEW!**_


	3. The One Where They Name Cars

Finally, I have updated! I didn't think I was ever going to get this chapter out, but I managed to quicker than I thought I would! I once again want to thank **CC **and **Kate **for reviewing as well as **waterbender-inlalaland**. You guys are truly awesome, and I greatly appreciate the reviews! Y'all write amazing review, too! I encourage the rest of my readers to review as well and to go read some of my other stories such as _Save the Last Dance, Dancing Through Life _(both of which are Twilight stories), and the new _For the Love of Quidditch _(obviously Harry Potter). That would be greatly appreciated if you haven't read them already.

Anyways, here is chapter three! I labored over this chapter so I hope you guys all enjoy!

Vi908

I don't own anything _Twilight _related.

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"Is it always this freaking cold?" I shivered violently as Kim and I laid out on the beach in our bathing suits on one of the rare sunny days of summer. I was a Southern girl from North Carolina, and used to 98 degree weather and humidity. Nothing had prepared me for La Push. "I hate this awful, miserable weather in the Godforsaken town!"

"Oh, you're such a baby, Juliet," Kim laughed at me. I was huddled under my Hello Kitty beach towel, while she was sprawled out on her back on pink towel sporting a rainbow striped bikini and a pair of black sunglasses. "It isn't even that bad today. At least it's sunny and not raining!"

I pondered for a moment. This was the only good weather we had gotten since I had moved to La Push 2 months ago in June. "True, but I'd rather it be like 78 degrees outside right now."

"You might want to reapply your sunscreen," Kim informed me as she rolled over onto her stomach so she could get an even tan. I was very jealous of her natural copper colored skin. She didn't even have to work hard to get a tan. I, on the other hand, could tan very well under normal circumstances, but the stupid Washington Summer had left me a lot paler than normal thanks to the rainy, cloudy weather.

"Where are the boys on this fine morning?" I asked as I squirted some of the SPF 15 sunscreen into my palm and began to rub it on my arms and shoulders, careful not to get any on my yellow polka dotted swimsuit.

"They're doing some job for Sam," Kim answered, referring to her boyfriend Jared and our close guy friends, Seth, Embry, Quil, and Paul. "Jared said they'd be done around lunch time if we want to get a bite to eat with them at the diner in town."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said pulling out my phone to check the time. "I ought to be done baking by then."

Checking my phone, I saw that I had gotten a text message from my brother, Heath. Heath never texted me, so I knew something must have been up, and I quickly opened the message to see what it was about.

"Oh my god," I squealed suddenly, jumping up from my position on the sand. "Kim we need to go to my house, right now! No wasting time. Let's go!"

I tossed my towel, book (_A Tale of Two Cities_, my favorite book_)_, and pink iPod Nano into my big beach bag, and threw on a pair of black Nike Tempo shorts over my bathing suit bottoms and a white spaghetti strap tank top. Kim looked at me strangely, like I had gone crazy, but she still got up, gathered her things together, and followed me back to my house. She knew me well enough to know that something was up.

The walk, or jog since I was so needy to get there, to my house was short. My house was only half a mile from the beach, and I had taken advantage of that all summer. Kim and I had gone to the beach almost every day. Whether it was to watch the boys surf when the swells were good or to lay out like we did in decent weather, Kim and I had bonded at the beach. Allie would forever be my best friend—Kim knew that. But Kim was special to me. She was the first person I'd met in La Push, and that meant something. There was no way to describe it other than that we were bonded. We just understood each other through some strange connection. Kim made La Push enjoyable. If it hadn't been for her, I would have died of boredom earlier on in the summer.

When we got to my house, I saw_ it_. It was finally here sitting in my driveway in front of my house, what I had been waiting for the entire time I'd been in La Push. I couldn't contain my excitement as I jumped up and down for joy. I was afraid that it wasn't going to come in time for school, but, luckily, it had.

My cherry red, Volkswagen Bug convertible sat in my driveway beaming at me in exactly the same condition I had left it in.

"Oh, Bettie, I missed you!" I screamed and hugged the front end of my car. Some might call me crazy or obsessed, but I loved my beautiful car. It was my pride and joy. I had worked the everyday summer before I turned 16 babysitting these two devil kids to get enough money to pay for my car. Since I was the only one who could put up with those awful kids, I got paid almost triple the amount of the average babysitter. That had been the only way I could afford my Bug, whom I affectionately named Bettie.

"Bettie?" Kim snickered as she admired my car. She had heard me excitedly talk about how it was coming all summer.

"Yes, Bettie," I sniffed, leading her inside to grab the keys off the kitchen counter where Heath said he left them. "Don't tell me you didn't name your car, Kim. What girl doesn't name their car? Allie has a Bug, too. His name is Bernie—He's Bettie's best friend."

"You're scaring me," Kim chuckled as we got into my car. The only good thing about this weather was that the tan leather interior wasn't scorching hot like it would have been in North Carolina thanks to the ungodly heat.

"Whatever, you know this is a cute car," I smiled. "Let's go for a little ride with the top down!"

"Juliet, the diner is only like three minutes away."

"I want to ride with the top down, just appease me," I told Kim, acting like a little baby. "I haven't driven my car in almost two months."

I let the top down on my car excitedly before taking off towards the diner where we would be meeting our guy friends for lunch in a few minutes. I always loved driving, the feeling of the open road behind me and the top down on my car with the wind rushing through my hair. A lot of people thought I was crazy, but driving was kind of therapeutic for me. There was nothing for me like turning my radio all the way up and singing a bad 80's pop song as loud as I could while driving down the highway.

"Look, there's Jared, Paul, and Embry," Kim pointed towards where the boys were standing outside the small diner. They stared at my car as we pulled into the parking spot in front of them.

"Looks like Jules finally got her car," Embry commented to the guys as I pushed a button to the let the top back up on my car.

"Nice car," Paul smiled brightly as he opened the driver's side door for me the moment he saw it was unlocked. "It suits you."

"I know," I beamed. Getting my car back had put me in an unusually good mood. I was up for pretty much anything with Bettie by my side. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Uh, yeah," Paul stuttered but I didn't think anything of it because Paul always stuttered; I was beginning to think he had a stuttering problem. "She is beautiful."

"Her name is Bettie," Kim laughed as Jared put his gigantic, muscled arm around her waist while the five of us walked into the diner.

"Don't make fun, Kim," I warned my friend playfully. "I might just have to name your car, too. I take my car names seriously. Anyways, where are Seth and Quil? I thought they were coming, too."

"They had some more work to do," Jared said cryptically. Sometimes I wondered if the guys hid things from me. Whenever I asked them about the work they did for Sam Uley, they always seemed nervous and never responded the same way. I wasn't stupid, but I figured if they didn't want to tell me, I wouldn't pry too hard. La Push was a small town. I'd find out eventually.

As it was lunch time, the diner was rather crowded, but Embry knew the guy who owned the diner so we got seated in a small booth rather quickly. Kim and Jared sat on one side of the booth while I was squished uncomfortably on the other side between Paul and Embry. I wasn't a big girl, in fact, I was very small for my age, but Paul and Embry were both so massively huge that they took up all of the extra room in the booth that I wasn't taking up. There was no way to avoid touching them with some part of my body accidentally. They guys were so hot, literally and figuratively. Their bodies were so much warmer than mine. I had been feeling cold while Kim and I had been sitting on the beach, but squished between Paul and Embry I was as warm as hot summer's day—just the way I liked to be. After a few weeks in La Push, I had gotten used to the unusual body temperature that my guy friends' bodies ran at. I had asked Kim once why they were that way, and she had told me it was a medical condition. I wasn't sure if I believed her.

"What'll it be, dears?" Our waitress was Linda, an older woman with fading red hair and smudged dark red lipstick. We had frequented this diner all summer; it was one of the only restaurants in La Push, and Heath and I ate here almost every night. My parents were usually busy working on their research, but even if my mom did try to cook, Heath and I would always escape to the diner to get something edible. Usually, Kim and some of my other friends would join us. "The usual?"

"Sure," I said, handing her my menu while everyone else did the same. My usual was a grilled chicken caesar salad, as was Kim's. The guys went for heartier meals that were about three times the portion size of mine and Kim's. Our meals didn't very take long to arrive at our table.

"So do you guys have any plans for this afternoon?" Embry asked as he scarfed down one of his three cheeseburgers.

I shrugged. "Kim was going to come over, and we were going to watch some Grey's Anatomy and eat some Ben and Jerry's. Other than that, not really."

"Girls and their chick flicks," Paul muttered beside me jokingly. My relationship with Paul had changed a lot since I had first met him at the beginning of summer. At first I had thought he was big weirdo who had a staring problem. Well, I still thought he had a staring problem, but he definitely wasn't as weird as I had originally thought he was. Paul was actually kind of cool once I got to know him a bit more, and we had become good friends. Now, the only weird thing was that I knew that Paul kind of had a thing for me, which was awkward to say the least. It wasn't like he wasn't completely hot and drool-worthy, I just didn't want to be in a relationship. I was always much happier when I was single. Besides, Kim had told me that he was totally off-limits to me if I didn't want to be in a relationship with him. According to her, he really liked me, a lot a lot, and that becoming "friends with benefits" would not be a good idea unless I wanted to break Paul's heart. I did not want to do that at all so I just carried on knowing that Paul had feelings for me.

"Well are you guys up for a change in plans?" A devious look came upon Embry's face as he smirked slightly.

Kim and I exchanged glances from across the table before she answered for the both of us. "It depends on what your plans are exactly."

"I'm thinking we go crash a party in Forks," Embry revealed his master plan to us. "There are some kinds that Heath told me about that he met while he was out walking around, and they invited him to a raging party tonight in Forks."

"A raging party in Forks?" Kim asked skeptically, and I couldn't help but agree with her. Forks was a small town outside of La Push, and it was anything but 'raging.' I hardly doubt people in Forks knew what 'raging' was. "Are you sure you heard right, Embry?"

"Yeah, that's what Heath told me," Embry defended what he had heard. "Listen, let's just go and have some fun before school starts back because between school and Sam working us to death, we're never going to be able to have any fun."

"I still don't know if I want to go…," I wasn't much of a partier; I never had been. I preferred to spend my time other ways than getting drunk and forgetting what I was doing.

"Oh, come on, Juliet," Embry was practically begging me to go. He wasn't down on his knees yet, but he was only one step away. "If you and Kim don't go, then Paul and Jared definitely won't. I don't want it to just be me and your brother at this party. You know how Heath gets."

Embry was right (minus the fact that he mentioned that Paul would only go if I did). I knew how Heath got at parties. I supposed I could go just to look after my older brother, and I wouldn't even have to 'party' or whatever if I didn't want to. Besides, I thought drunken people were kind of funny when they weren't Heath and I didn't have to take care of them. "Alright, I'll go, as long as Kim comes, too."

"I'm up for a party as long as Jules is there to enjoy it with me," Kim smiled and we both silently decided we were going to have some fun tonight. Embry was right with another point he brought up as well. School was approaching soon at the beginning of September. We only had a few precious more weeks before school started back to enjoy ourselves. I took school very seriously—I was the daughter of two professors, I couldn't not take it seriously—and that meant I would have little time to spend with my new friends while I wasn't doing schoolwork and planning ahead for college.

"So I guess that means we're going, Paul," Jared sighed. He didn't seem too happy about attending this 'raging' party Embry had informed us of, and neither did Paul.

"Well, you two don't have to go," I said feistily, and Kim nodded in agreement. "It's your choice, but Kim and I have decided that we're going to have fun tonight and you two are not going to ruin it."

Paul looked at me like not going wasn't an option, and Jared looked at Kim the same way. They were such overprotective boys. I rolled my eyes, and pushed on Paul's rock hard body slightly, signaling to him that I wanted to get out of the booth. Paul hopped up out of the quickly, and held out his hand to help me out. Before I could take it, I saw Kim give me a look that told me not to grab Paul's hand. I got out of the booth on my own, but I felt bad once I saw Paul's face. He looked faintly crestfallen.

I grabbed Kim by the hand much to Jared's protests and dragged her out of the booth. "If Kim and I are going to this party, we're going to need some time to get party ready. We'll meet you guys at 7 o'clock outside my house."

"Oh, alright, just go," Jared huffed. I swear he could hardly bear to be away from Kim. They were almost always together; it was as if it was actually painful for him to be away from her. "Just be careful."

Paul didn't say anything as Kim and I left the diner to get into my little red Bug, but I could feel his eyes watching me as we left and I didn't like it one bit. Paul was making me feel very guilty for more than just not taking his hand.

"I think I need to do something about Paul," I told Kim once we got back to my house to get ready for the party. I was laying on my bed staring up at the ceiling in my room while Kim flipped through the clothes in my closet looking for something for the two of us to wear.

Kim sighed, continuing to look through my color-coded closet. "I wouldn't go there, Juliet. Just let him be."

"But I feel bad," I whined and flipped over onto my stomach to shift my attention to Kim. "I can't just lead him on, and let him think he actually has a chance. That's just mean."

"You just don't know the situation," Kim tried to explain to me. She started to say other things several times, but she stopped herself every time before she could get a word out. "It's complicated."

"How is it complicated, Kim? Paul likes me. I need to set him straight so he doesn't get the wrong picture about how I feel about him. Unless you can give me a legitimate reason not to, I'm going to tell him," I expressed to her.

"Because you doing that would be worse than you being friends with benefits with him," Kim turned to look at me. Her face was very serious, much more serious than I had expected her to be. "It would absolutely crush him. Paul cares about you much more than you think he does. It's not just a crush."

"He barely even knows me," I rolled my eyes at Kim's dramatization of the situation I was in with Paul. "He couldn't care about me as much as you think he does."

"He doesn't have to know you."

"Let's just drop it," I sighed. Kim and I obviously weren't going to agree on anything when it came to Paul. I guess that me telling Paul that I didn't have feelings for him would lead to an awkward situation to arise within our little group of friends that had formed over the past two months. Maybe that was what Kim was trying to protect.

"Maybe you should just give him a chance," Kim spoke softly after a few moments of silence. "He's a wonderful guy."

I ran my hand through my hair. Kim and I had already had this discussion multiple times throughout the summer, and they normally ended badly. I couldn't start a relationship with Paul. It just wasn't right. I would be leaving in less than a year to go back to where I belonged, to where I wanted to be. I couldn't selfishly start a relationship like that. "I just…can't."

"Then leave him alone," That was the last Kim and I spoke of the Paul situation for the rest of the evening. "Now, what do you think about you wearing this dress?"

In her hands was my favorite dress that I owned—a short, blood red, fringed flapper-inspired number that I had never worn before. I'd bought it a long time ago, at least a year ago, and never found the perfect occasion to wear it, but I loved it from the moment I first saw it in a little boutique in Winston-Salem. "Do you think I can get away with wearing something like this to a party in Forks?"

"Honey, in this dress, you can get away with anything," Kim giggled and laid the dress out for me to wear. "This thing is so hot, and you're going to make it look even better!"

I put the gorgeous dress on, and I couldn't help but smile when I looked at myself wearing it in the mirror. The dress made me feel like I was Daisy Buchanan or some other beautiful, 1920's woman. To say I liked that feeling was an understatement. I was empowered by it.

Kim picked out a strapless black banded dress for herself to wear that was a little more understated than my outfit, but she still looked amazing in it. I had no doubt that Jared wouldn't be able to keep his eyes, or his hands, off of Kim all night because that dress hugged her subtle curves in all the right way.

"We are two good looking ladies," I laughed as Kim and I twirled in my room, admiring ourselves as we sashayed through the room dancing to a Taylor Swift song. Taylor Swift is good music for dancing in your room.

"I know," Kim laughed at our vanity. Of course, we were only joking around, but it always feels good to get all dressed up and beautiful. It does wonder to a girl's self-esteem to feel beautiful. "Oh, it's almost 7. They guys should be here soon."

Kim and I left my room and headed outside towards the front porch, only to be intercepted by Heath who looked like he was also heading out for the night. He almost had a stroke when he saw what I was wearing.

"Oh my, Juliet, I will not let you out of the house looking like that," Heath gave me a once over. "You are my little sister, and I put my foot down."

I rolled my eyes. "Heath, you're worse than Mom sometimes. It's just a dress."

"Just a dress?" Heath's eyes bulged out slightly at my comment. "Jules, do you know what guys think when they see you in a dress like that? They aren't thinking about the intelligent thoughts going on in your brain or how pretty your eyes are. They only have one thing on their mind, and that is-."

"Heath! Stop it for goodness' sake," I threw my hands on my hips. "I've been around guys before. You don't have to give me a lesson on them."

"Go change," Heath demanded, but I was standing my ground. He wasn't the boss of me.

"No."

"Well, at least put a jacket on," Heath reached into the coat closet beside the front door, and grabbed my favorite black pea coat and threw it over my shoulders. "Embry said you guys were coming to the party with him tonight."

"Yeah, we are," I reached into the closet again and pulled out another one of my black pea coats for Kim. A girl could never have enough pea coats.

"Be careful," Heath said before he left the house and got into the Volvo, leaving for the party.

"My brother is so weird," I shook my head.

"He's not that weird," Kim contradicted me. "He's just an older brother, and a guy. They're all like that. Anyways, what do your parents think you and Heath are doing tonight?"

"I don't know what they think Heath is doing, but they think that I'm spending the night at your house helping you finish your summer reading project," I grinned. I had never been much of rebellious child, but I figured now was as good of a time as ever. Why not?

Kim laughed, her shiny, black hair bouncing on her shoulders. "My parents think I'm here helping you do the same thing."

"Honestly, Kim, you need to come up with a better lie next time. My parents are Literature professors. I don't need help with summer reading!" Kim thought about it for a moment before agreeing with me.

"Oh, there are the guys," Kim pointed to Embry's car driving towards us in the distance. The sun had gone down earlier and with it had gone the nice weather; rain was falling steadily now as Kim and I ran out to the waiting car and got in the backseat with Jared. Embry was driving since it was his car, of course, and Paul was in the passenger seat.

"Hello, ladies," Embry said, trying to be a smooth ladies man, but failing miserably. Kim and I only laughed at his attempt to seem cool.

"I'm sorry, Embry, but you just aren't a player," Kim howled with laughter. She was laughing so hard she leaned her head on Jared's shoulder. I really didn't think what she said was that funny, but she had Paul, Jared, and I cracking up at her strange behavior.

The ride to Forks wasn't that long, only about 30 minutes, and it was occupied with us all talking about what to expect from the party. Paul said he thought there were going to be a lot of stoners there, and Jared agreed with him. Embry thought that it was just going to be a regular party with a lot of beer and dancing and all that jazz. Kim and I thought there was going to be a mixture of both.

Embry was the only one who actually knew where this party was. He drove through the suburban streets of Forks before we arrived at a house where lots of cars were parked out front and loud music was booming from inside the house. Upon further inspection when we got out of the car, I noticed the Volvo sitting a couple of cars away from Embry's car so Heath must have already been inside.

We all followed Embry inside, with Jared tagging very closely behind Kim and Paul near me but not uncomfortably so. When we got inside, I noticed the party was already in full swing. People were dancing, drinking, and generally making a fool of themselves. I was sure this was going to be an entertaining night.

"I think it's time to take the jacket off, Juliet," Kim whispered to me, smiling brightly as she did so. She had already discarded her jacket and placed it on the back of a chair nearby the front door.

I shed my black pea coat. The moment I had the jacket off, I felt eyes looking at me, and it was definitely more than one set of eyes.

"Whoa, Juliet," Embry whistled low; he didn't mean it in a way other than to tell me I looked good. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul shoot him a look. I almost thought I saw a tremor run the length of Paul's well-muscled body, but as soon as Jared put a hand on Paul's shoulder what I thought I'd saw wasn't there. It must've just been the dark lighting in the house playing tricks on me.

I blushed slightly, and hoped nobody would notice. In theory, I had felt excited about the attention I would get from wearing this gorgeous dress, but now that I was actually standing in a room full of people who were staring at my body, I felt a little insecure.

"Jared, let's go dance," Kim didn't even have to ask twice before she and Jared were out on the dance floor getting their groove on, and having fun.

Embry wandered off somewhere else in the house to do who knows what, and I lost track of him. That left me and Paul alone, like always. Paul and I always ended up alone together somehow. It wasn't like I intended for it to happen; it just always did. Paul stood behind me, and I couldn't force myself to turn around a look at him. My conversation I'd had with Kim earlier kept running through my head over and over again at light speed.

"Hey," Paul said softly from behind me, "Juliet."

"What?" I whipped around sharply, looking at Paul in the eyes for the first time that night. "What do you want, Paul?"

Paul just looked at me, doing that staring thing that he did all the time, for a moment. "You look undeniably beautiful tonight."

"Just…don't," I sighed, holding up my hand as a sign in protest to the words Paul had spoken. I had heard a few boys tell me I was beautiful before in my short 17 years of life, but I had never heard any of them say it as sincerely or ardently as Paul. It confused me, and, to tell the truth, it kind of scared me a little bit, too.

"Don't what?" Paul looked a little angry at me. I'd never seen him angry at me before, and it hurt me inside just a little since we had become such close friends over the summer. "Don't tell you that I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on before? That you're the only girl who can get my heart racing so fast that I think it's going to explode without even looking at me? I can't _not_ tell you anymore, Juliet."

Paul took my small hand in his large, warm one, and placed it over his heart on his chest. Sure enough, his heart seemed to be beating a thousand times a minute as I felt it under my palm. I examined my effect on him curiously, how tenderly he held my hand to his heart, like my hand was made of some type of extra fragile porcelain that would break if you breathed on it the wrong way; when I looked back up at his face, Paul had his eyes closed almost serenely. It was so hard for me to tell what he was thinking in that moment. I was so confused, and I wasn't sure that even I knew what I was thinking. "Paul, I can't do this."

"Can't do what?" His eyes snapped open, my declaration destroying any of the calm that had been on his face a moment before. He looked confused now, about as confused as me.

"This," I extricated my hand from his, and motioned between the two of us. I was trying to say that I couldn't do me and Paul being together without actually saying it. "I can't do this."

"Why?" Paul's handsome face looked pained, like when I had removed my hand I had also ripped his heart out and shredded it into a million tiny pieces on the floor. I immediately felt guilty, and wished that I could have do over. I hadn't wanted to hurt Paul, at all. That hadn't been my intention, but I should've known. I just should've known.

"I just can't."

I wandered off into the crowd of the party, leaving my conversation with Paul at a standstill before I could do any more damage with my big fat mouth. I needed something to distract me from what I had just done, something to get my mind off of Paul and how I had hurt his feelings without even thinking about it. I was in desperate need of a drink, and, thankfully, there were plenty of them at this party.

I grabbed a red plastic cup off of one of the many stacks of them on the kitchen counter, and quickly filled it half way up with the closest liquid nearby, which happened to be a bottle of tequila. I had never had much experience drinking, just a cup of beer or two at a party every once and a while and some wine at my cousin's wedding. I didn't even like to drink, but at that moment, I just wanted to forget about everything going on with Paul.

When Kim found me about 20 minutes later, I was on my third cup and already wasted. "Whoa, Jules, what's in the cup?"

"Mmm, tequila," I said, smacking my lips together and dancing playfully on top of a small table by myself. "You should get some, too."

Kim smacked her hand to her forehead, and started pacing around me anxiously in little circles. "Oh, God. What am I going to do with you? We can't go back to your house with you like this, and we definitely can't go to my house because you'll wake up my parents and they will kill us. Maybe we can go to Jared's…"

Before Kim could finish her conversation with herself, I had wandered off again unnoticed. I wasn't really aware of what I was doing, just that I wasn't ready to go anywhere. I wanted to stay at the party and have some more fun.

"Juliet? Are you drunk?" That was Embry. He was chatting up some slutty looking girl in a tight black mini skirt and a mid-drift top when he noticed me walking, or more like stumbling, through the main room of the house.

"No," I slurred noticeably as Embry he left his slutty friend behind to check on me. She kind of looked relieved to be rid of him. "I'm perrrrrrfectly sober."

"For some reason I don't believe you," Embry looked at me for a moment before grabbing me by the arm to ensure I didn't run off. He then took my red plastic cup out of my hand and discarded it in the nearest trashcan. "Come on, let's get you a glass of water."

"I don't wanna glass of water," I escaped from Embry's grasp, and started heading towards the front door. I wanted to get away from Embry and Kim and Paul and La Push. Embry didn't try to follow me, but pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing some number.

When I opened the door, the first thing I noticed was that it felt really good outside. The house had been stuffy and hot, almost suffocating, and the cool night air felt good on my flushed and exposed skin. I proceeded out onto the lawn and sat down on the grass. I had thought I was all alone until I saw Paul walking up from seemingly nowhere.

"What are you doing out here?" He towered over me. He didn't seem angry with me anymore, just hurt, and I couldn't blame him.

"Trying to get away from everyone," I laid back on the grass and stared up at the night sky. There weren't too many lights on so I could see most of the stars clearly. "I'm not doing a good job."

"You're drunk," Paul said matter-of-factly as he plopped down next to me in the grass. I was too far off now to even care that he was beside me. "I should get you back to La Push soon."

"I'm sorry for being rude," I wouldn't look at him. I just continued to look up in the stars. Normally, I would've tried to find all the constellations, but my brain was so frazzled and going in every direction that I couldn't make any of them out.

"It's okay," Paul replied gently, and I knew his eyes weren't watching the stars. I heard the door behind us open and the click of high heel shoes against the paved walkway. It was Kim.

"Paul, I got the keys to the Volvo," She called him over to her, leaving me by myself. "Embry, Jared, and I will make sure Heath gets back to La Push in one piece to night. Those Hudson siblings…what are we going to do with them?"

Paul sighed and ran a hand through his cropped hair. "I don't know, Kim. I just can't live like this much longer. I can't take it."

I didn't know what the two of them were talking about really. I could feel myself drifting off into some dreamland as I lay there in the grass.

"Where are you going to take her? You can't take her back to her house. Her parents will freak."

"Back to my place," I heard Paul say. He and Kim were talking in hushed tones, but it was still loud enough for me to hear. I had never been to Paul's house before. "My mom is working a double shift at the hospital so I won't disturb anyone."

"Alright," Kim replied and pulled at set of keys out of her jacket pocket. She handed them over to Paul. She said something else, but they were more careful to whisper. I think they knew I could hear them earlier.

"Come on, Juliet, let's get you out of here," Paul scooped me up gently in his arms like I was a light as a feather after Kim had gone back inside. He walked smoothly over to where my mom's Volvo was parked on the side of the street. Somehow he managed to unlock and open the door with one hand while he held me up against him with the other. I wasn't completely conscious so I couldn't tell how he had. Paul placed me down I the passenger seat, taking extra care to make sure he buckled my seatbelt.

Paul drove the Volvo back to his house in La Push. Like most other houses in La Push, Paul's house was small, but homey. There was even a door mat outside the front door that said welcome that I noticed as Paul carried me over the threshold of the house. I didn't see much of the house as Paul quickly ushered me to his room and set me down on his bed.

Paul's room was the room of a typical teenaged boy. It was fairly messy, but not in a gross pig sty type of way. The walls were cream colored and he had a blue down comforter on his bed with several fluffy pillows. Overall, Paul's room seemed very empty, minus the bed, dresser, and occasional piece of clothing on the floor, and it had a feel like Paul didn't really live here, like he was never in his room except to sleep and change clothes.

"Can you change clothes by yourself?" He pulled out a large white t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts from the wooden dresser against the wall in his room. I nodded, and took the clothes from his outstretched hand. "I'm going to get you some Tylenol and a glass of water so you can change in here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

I changed clothes as quickly as my sluggish body could. I wanted to avoid the disaster of Paul walking in on me half-naked. That just would be embarrassing for the both of us. Paul's clothes were huge on me, though. I could have worn the t-shirt as a dress, and I had to tie the gym shorts as tight as they would go just so they wouldn't fall down. Even though they were big, they were really comfortable. I laid back down in Paul's bed; it too was comfy.

True to his word, Paul returned minutes later with a glass of water in one hand and two Tylenol in the other, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here, this ought to help you feel better when you wake up in the morning. You're still probably going to have a killer hangover, though."

"Great," I groaned after I swallowed the pills and downed half the glass of water. "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I did that."

"No, you're not," Paul removed the glass from him and put it on the night table beside the bed. "You're not an idiot. Just go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning when you wake up."

The last thing I saw as I closed my eyes was Paul's face staring down at me. I could've sworn as I dozed of that I felt a pair of lips gently caress my forehead, but I couldn't be sure.

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	4. The One Where They Go to School

Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I've been super busy with school, but I should be able to update more regularly from now on :) Just want to send some shout outs my awesome reviewers: **ArielMermaid, twilight dawn beaulieu15, hannah9page, ChoppedAndScrewed, **and **CC**! You guys are awesome, and give the best, most encouraging reviews! Thanks to you and everyone else who have read this story, and I ask that you please continue to give it the same support. _**You guys**_ are the ones I write for!

Anyways, I don't own anything Twilight related or anything else you recognize.

Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 4, and please review! If you guys have any questions, comments, etc. either leave them in a review or message me :)

Vi908

* * *

The very first thought I had when I woke up in the morning was '_where am I_?' I noticed that I definitely wasn't my house as I sat up in the foreign bed with a warm blue comforter and fluffy pillow. Suddenly, a wave of pain hit me hard. I groaned softly and threw a hand over my eyes to block out the harsh light that was flooding threw the one large window in the room.

"What the hell did I do last night?" I asked myself as I pushed my body to its limits by climbing out of the comfortable bed. I prayed that I hadn't had some crazy threesome or something else like that. Looking down at my body once I got out of the bed, I noticed I wasn't wearing my own clothes but some that looked like they belonged to a very large guy.

I walked tenderly from the bed and out the bedroom door into the hallway. My whole body was aching, and my head was pounding like it was about to explode. This house was not familiar to me at all, but I felt like I should know it. I continued through the house, trying to find something that I wasn't even sure of.

"You're awake," I heard a voice behind me as I passed through what appeared to be a small, clean kitchen. While I didn't recognize the house I was in, I was very familiar with the person whose voice called out to me. I turned around slowly to face Paul, who was standing in front of me in only a pair of boxers holding two cups of coffee in his hands. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I replied, rubbing a hand on the back of my neck self-consciously. Looking at Paul half-naked and myself wearing his clothes, I wasn't quite sure what had happened with us last night. What I did remember was the conversation I'd had with Paul earlier in the night about me not wanting to be with him. Had I gotten drunk and…..? I certainly hoped I hadn't.

"You don't remember what happened last night, do you?" Paul handed me a steaming cup of coffee. I shook my head. "I didn't think you would. You did some heavy drinking."

Paul bid me to sit next to him on the small couch in his living room, and I followed without any complaint. I was sore all over; I wasn't used to drinking heavily, and it was having a negative adverse on my tiny body. The coffee was helping me a little bit, but only good rest would cure me of my intense hangover.

"So, uh, what did I do last night?" I asked awkwardly after Paul and I had been sitting on the couch in silence for a little while. "The last thing I remember was-."

I didn't have to finish my sentence for Paul to realize what the last thing I remembered was. He knew that it was the memory of me shutting him down.

"You weren't too crazy."

I sighed in relief. At least I hadn't gone off and swung from a chandelier or something. That could have been really bad.

"Well, I do remember you dancing on a table at one point in time," Paul smirked slightly, and I buried my head in my hands embarrassingly.

"I'm never getting drunk again," I mumbled through my hands. I couldn't believe I had done that. It was so unlike me. "Like if I ever think about drinking again, please smack upside the head. It'll be less painful in the long run."

Paul chuckled softly before running a large hand through his dark hair. I couldn't stop myself from staring openly. I might not have been interested in him when it came to a relationship, but he was one fine hunk of eye candy. "I won't smack you upside the head, but I'll remind you of what happened last time."

Silence fell between Paul and me again. Normally, I was okay with silence, but it was just awkward between us. I felt like he had something to say to me, but he never said anything. Honestly, I didn't want to get into another conversation with Paul. I didn't think he, nor I, could survive another chat like we'd had last night.

"Well, I should probably get home soon," I stood awkwardly, putting my coffee cup down on the small glass table in front of the couch. "How did we get here last night anyways?"

"I drove your mom's car," Paul said, standing up from the couch. He reached over onto the kitchen counter, grabbing a familiar set of keys and tossing them too me lightly. "Embry, Kim, and Jared made sure Heath got home okay."

"Oh, Heath," I blanched a little bit. I had totally forgotten about him. Hadn't one of my reasons for going to the party been to take care of my older brother? "Is he okay? Did the take him home? I hope not because Mom and Dad will kill him if he comes home trashed again."

"I don't know," Paul spoke apologetically. He seemed very sincere in every word he said to me. For some reason, that made me uncomfortable. "Uh, your dress is in my room. I'll go get it for you."

Paul left, and returned quickly with my red flapper dress which he had taken the liberty to hang on a clothes hanger. I could only imagine how this looked, probably like some girl doing the walk of shame after a night of hooking up. I silently vowed to never be that girl. I couldn't take the mortification.

"Thanks," I took the dress from Paul, and he followed me outside to my mom's Volvo. I was glad to see that it was waiting to take me home. I was ready to be just about anywhere but where I was right now. "I'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah," Paul replied, opening the car door for me and shutting it once I had gotten inside.

After enough sufficient awkwardness, I cranked the car, and quickly hurried to my house. The Volvo was taking me to my safe haven, a.k.a. my room, as fast as it could get me there. Unfortunately, I had a little trouble before I got there.

"Juliet Amelia Hudson, where have you been and what are you wearing?" My mother's voice screeched out as I tried to sneak past the living room and into my bedroom. I cringed, knowing I was caught. My mother would not believe that I had been over a Kim's last night. I was clearly wearing a guy's clothing.

"Um," I had never been good at lying to my parents. In fact, I had always been the 'golden child' in our family, well, at least compared to Heath I had been. "I, uh, I…"

"Don't lie to me," Charlotte Hudson was a fierce lady. You didn't want to cross her the wrong way. "I know you weren't at Kim Connweller's house last night."

"I went to a party," I whispered, hoping my mom wouldn't hear me and decide to let me off the hook.

"A party?" She nearly went ballistic and my hopes were dashed. "What kind of party was this? Was this a party like the ones your brother goes to? Are you hung over? Juliet, you're so much better than that. This is so unlike you."

My head fell dejectedly, and I knew she was right. There was no use arguing with her.

"I hope you know I don't want to punish you, but I have to lay down the law," My mother placed her hand on my shoulder. I was upset at her and myself, but I couldn't say she didn't love me because she definitely did. "You're grounded—for the rest of the summer."

"Mom!" I cried out. "That is so unfair! Heath goes out and drinks and parties all the time and never gets in trouble. There is such a double standard around here."

"Juliet, your brother is legally an adult so there is nothing that your father and I can do about that," My mother replied severely, her face tightening up and that vein throbbing in her forehead like it always did when she was angry. "As for you, you are still a minor and under our authority. You will do what we say."

"Fine," I ran into my room and slammed the door. Sure, I wasn't proud of what I had done, but I didn't think it deserved being grounded, much less for the rest of the summer. My mom was just being unreasonable. I flopped down on my bed face first, and wished that my parents hadn't taken this stupid sabbatical so I wouldn't be in stupid La Push and ground for the rest of the stupid summer.

* * *

"You know, even though this means that I have to go sit in a classroom for 8 hours and do loads of homework, I'm glad that school has started," I said to Kim as we walked through the parking lot of Quileute Tribal School on the first day of September. She looked at me like I was crazy. "What? It means that I'm not grounded anymore."

I had been grounded a whole month, and it had been absolute torture. I was very rarely allowed to leave my house, except for to run errands for my parents or to go on brief walks down the beach with Kim. Being grounded had almost been like solitary confinement for me. The only human contact I had was with my parents, Heath, and, very rarely, Kim. I hadn't seen Embry, Jared, Paul, or any of the other guys at all since my punishment had been enforced.

"Everybody has missed you," Kim smiled as we walked into the school building. I had a feeling she was only hinting at one person in particular.

The Quileute Tribal School was very small, with only about 200 students. Very, very few students were not Quileute, including me, so I stood out like a sore thumb when we first walked in. I was a pale girl in a sea of russet skinned Indians. I was the freak at this school. Fortunately, no one stared at me too much. New students were rare in La Push, but it wasn't like they had never seen anyone new before.

The building itself was not very big either. There were only about 20 classrooms in all, and that was a gracious plenty for the small school. It wasn't very hard at all to find my classes within a span of about 5 minutes. Besides, Kim was in all of my classes so on the far off chance that I got lost, she would be there to help. With a school so small, almost everyone had the same classes together.

"So what are you doing Friday night?" Kim asked with a little sparkle in her eye as we sat down in our first period class, British Lit, near the back of the classroom.

"I have no social life therefore I have no plans," I said blandly, pulling my Literature book out of my backpack and placed it on the desk I was sitting in.

"Well, what would you think about-?"

"Miss Connweller, please stop talking now. Class has started," a tall, gangly, balding man whom I could only assume was our British Lit teacher stood at the front of the classroom. "I am Mr. Fleming, most of you already know that, but I believe we have a new student—a Miss Juliet Hudson."

I raised my hand in acknowledgement to Mr. Fleming. Everyone in the class turned around to look at where I sat next to Kim. They hadn't stared much earlier, but they were all staring now. Well, it was to be expected. I was new in a small town, after all, and I hadn't really met anyone in La Push besides Kim and her friends over the summer.

"Miss Hudson, why don't you stand up in front of the class, and tell us something about yourself?" Mr. Fleming suggested, and motioned for me to go stand where he was in front of the class. I wasn't too uncomfortable. Being new was not new to me. I had been the new girl in school many times thanks to my parents and the sabbaticals they loved to take.

I walked to the front of the classroom, and turned to face my new classmates. "Hello, my name is Juliet Hudson. I'm from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but I moved here this summer because my parents are on sabbatical in La Push to write a new book."

A few whispers went throughout the class, but it wasn't anything out of the usual. I wasn't that interesting, just new. Mr. Fleming seemed more interested than anyone.

"You're parents are writing a new book?" He asked curiously, pushing up his glasses that were slipping down the bridge of his nose. "Are they authors?"

"No, they're Literature professors at Wake Forrest University," I answered, and Mr. Fleming looked slightly impressed. I could tell he was trying to suppress his interest in my parents' work, though.

"Well, I expect you will do well in this class, Miss Hudson," Mr. Fleming nodded, composing himself completely. "Just no cheating—."

A commotion at the door interrupted Mr. Fleming's lecture. Paul was, very noisily, walking into the classroom late. He looked slightly disheveled, almost as he had woke up late and just rolled out of bed or like he had run all the way to school. Though he looked unkempt, he still looked as handsome as he had when I'd seen him last at his house. His eyes connected with mine before he noticed anything else in the classroom, including all the other students and an annoyed Mr. Fleming staring at him.

"Ah, Mr. Fisher, how nice of you to join us! Please, take your time finding your seat," Mr. Fleming remarked sarcastically, ushering me back to my seat on one side of the classroom and Paul to the only open seat on the other side of the room. Paul's eyes followed me to my seat, and I could see Kim staring knowingly as well. What she knew, I had no idea, and I wasn't sure if I was ever going to figure it out. "Now, take out your books, and let's start this year off reading a little bit of my favorite author, Charles Dickens…"

I grudgingly took at my book. Being the daughter of two Literature professors, I had grown up reading all the classics. By age 12, I had read the best of Brontё, Austen, Twain, Shakespeare, and pretty much every other famous, well-loved author. My parents had seen to that. Literature had always been my best subject, but the most boring.

"I thought this reading would be appropriate," Mr. Fleming continued after we read the first few lines of the _A Tale of Two Cities_, "because this year we will be focusing our main study on one specific book, with some other smaller works on the side, and that will be Charles Dickens' classic masterpiece _A Tale of Two Cities_."

The whole class groaned as Mr. Fleming distributed small paperback copies of the book for each student in the classroom. After receiving my copy, I wrote my name on the inside, and looked up only to catch Paul's eye. He had been staring at me, openly, like he usually did, but something was different about him from when I saw him last. Something was off. Paul just didn't look like…Paul.

"Kim, does Paul look, I don't know, strange to you?" I leaned closer to Kim's desk, and whispered to her. I glanced back at Paul who had started to pretend he wasn't gawking at me for the sake of the confused people around us.

She looked up to examine Paul for a moment before turning to me. "Juliet, he….Paul hasn't been doing so well this summer."

"Wait, what do you mean?" My head tilted to the side involuntarily. I wasn't quite sure what Kim was trying to tell me. She looked torn, like she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't. "What's wrong with Paul?"

"He's just been going through a hard time recently, just be nice to him," Kim wasn't torn anymore. She had made up her mind not to tell me; I wanted to know, but I wasn't going to pry where I wasn't wanted.

After British Lit was over, Kim and I made our way out of the classroom and into the hallway. The hallway wasn't very busy since there weren't very many people enrolled at Quileute Tribal School. Waiting for us outside the door was Paul. He was leaning against the wall, and looked as if he could fall asleep standing straight up. His dark brown eyes looked faintly glossed over, and his eyelids were drooping slightly. I suddenly felt bad for him. I hadn't seen Paul during the second half of the summer, but something serious must have happened for him to be so miserable.

"Paul, hey," I spoke softly, and he jolted completely awake at the sound of my voice. His eyes snapped open suddenly, and he took me in with a long look. Kim looked at the two of us for a moment before running off to find Jared.

"Juliet," He said breathily. A smile appeared on his face, and it lit up the unhappy looking way his face was set. Paul almost looked like himself for the first time since I'd seen him walk into class that morning.

"Are you okay?" I couldn't help myself. I probably shouldn't be nosy, but sue me. I was concerned about how Paul was. He was my friend. Even if he had feelings for me, I could still try to be sweet and friendly to him without leading him on.

"I'm fine," Paul replied, almost convincing me. He sounded sincere when he spoke, but his appearance was so dejected looking that I couldn't believe him fully. "I promise, I'm fine."

"What class do you have next?" I asked, searching for something to get Paul's mind off whatever was making him so upset. I wasn't doing a very good job, but it was worth the effort.

"Uh," He pulled out a crumbled up piece of paper out of his khaki shorts, and studied it for a moment, "I've got Chemistry next."

"Well, Paul Fisher, it looks like we have Chemistry together," I announced, smiling brightly. "Will you walk me to our class? I don't really know where I'm going."

Paul smiled again, livelier this time. "It would be my honor."

Paul held out his arm to me, and I took it. He escorted me down the hall to our next class. All the way, people were staring as the new girl passed by on the arm of Paul Fisher, whispering about how I could snag him so quick. I suddenly had a feeling I had gotten myself into some kind of trouble, and wished I had Allie here in La Push to help me out of it.

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That's Chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed, and please REVIEW!


	5. The One With the Confrontation

Hey, everyone! I want to start off by thanking my reviewers: **Stargazer1364, .WOLF, and FreeRunner289. **Thank you so much for reviewing, and I really appreciate it! I was a little disappointed in the lack of reviews on the last chapter, but that's okay :( Anyways, thanks to everyone else who read, and I encourage you all to review this time!

Anyways, I don't own Twilight or anything else you recognize.

I hope you enjoy chapter 5! As always, if you have any questions/comments/suggestions either leave them in a review or message me :)

Vi908

* * *

Fall had soon torn through the small town of La Push, Washington. The leaves had changed from dark greens to vivid yellows and browns, and all of the leaves that weren't still on the trees had fallen on the ground in immense piles that Heath like to jump in. Along with the change in the color of the leaves, the weather had become much harsher. It had always been cold in La Push, even during the summer, but it was practically freezing, or at least it seemed like it to me. Then again, I was from North Carolina, and cold to me was like 60 degrees. If it was already freezing cold in October, I could only imagine how much worse it was going to get when winter actually rolled around.

School was normal as it possibly could be. I kept my grades up, there was bad cafeteria food, and the usual loads of homework. The only thing that was different was that all of my friends weren't there. There was just Kim. And Paul, sometimes, depending on whether he was being moody or not. Life in La Push was just about as I had expected it to be—very drab and ho-hum.

The only thing that kept me from being completely and utterly bored was the secret I was sure Paul, Kim, and the rest of their friends were keeping from me. At first, I'd thought I was just paranoid, but the more time I spent with the new people I had met in La Push, the more convinced I was that they were all hiding some huge, ginormous secret from everyone, not just me. I wasn't quite sure what this secret could be, but I knew there definitely was one. Maybe they were all involved in some top secret FBI witness relocation program because they had all been witnesses to some high profile murder. Or maybe they were all part of some small town cult that had meetings and involved in stuff like polygamy or rituals. Ah, I didn't know what they were up to, just that they were up to something. I was curious.

"Hey, Sweetheart," My dad called out to me from the small study in our house as I walked by in the hallway. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I was enjoying my free time away from school. Today was my relaxing day, or as I liked to call it "Juliet Time." I just wanted to sit around my room, read a book, and give myself a mani-pedi. I needed my "Juliet Time" every once and a while.

"Good afternoon, Daddy," I walked into the study to see him pouring over piles of books and papers laying on his desk. The study was the smallest room in our house, but it was filled with the most things. My parents had crammed both of their desks along with their expansive book collections and research utensils into this tiny, itty bitty room. There wasn't very much room to walk, especially with the small loveseat they had crammed in the room so my parents could take a break and sleep without leaving their workplace. They were closeted workaholics. "What are you up to this afternoon?"

"I'm just doing a little bit more last minute research for the book before your mother and I get started on the rough draft," He smiled warmly, and readjusted his pair of reading glasses. He moved over to the brown leather loveseat, and patted the seat next to him for me to come sit. "Do you want to hear something interesting?"

I was sure whatever my dad had to tell me about his book wasn't that interesting, but I decided to listen to him anyways. "Um, sure. Shoot."

"Did you know that the Quileute people were supposedly descended from wolves?"

"Wolves?" I crinkled my nose slightly. "That's kind of strange."

"I know, but the legends are very intriguing," My dad went on to explain what he had gathered from the few months we had spent in La Push. "They aren't just descended from any wolves either, Jules. They're descended from the men that turn into wolves."

"You mean, like, werewolves?" My dad's not-so-interesting fact had turned into something a little bit more attention-grabbing. I wasn't sure why, but this whole wolf thing was making me curious and slightly uncomfortable.

My dad confirmed my conclusion. "Exactly like werewolves."

"You don't actually think that-?"

"That they're descended from genuine, legitimate werewolves?" My dad completed my sentence for me; he smiled again, his wrinkles from years of dealing with Heath and me showing a tiny bit. "I don't know, Juliet. Who really knows? The Quileute people sure do believe in their legends, though."

After my dad and I finished our little conversation, I went back to my room, and decided to read a book. I pulled out my copy of _A Tale of Two Cities_ that we were reading for British Literature class. I'd read the book before, but it couldn't hurt to read it again. Besides, it was a good book.

I was really getting into the book when a beeping noise from my laptop alerted me that I had a call waiting on Skype from my best friend, Allie. Excitedly, I quickly opened the chat. "Allie!"

"Jules!" Her happy, smiling face appeared on the screen in front of me.

"Al, you should come visit me soon," I complained to my best friend over our weekly Skype chat that we had every Saturday at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. "I need you. Seriously, I can't live without seeing you much longer. And Heath is a poor substitute for you when it comes to painting nails."

Allie laughed on the video chat. Her honey blonde hair was laying in perfect curls on her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled brightly even through the dim video. I had a really pretty best friend. Allie was just one of those girls who always looked flawless. Back before we really knew each other, I had been somewhat jealous of how gorgeous she was, but people honestly couldn't dislike Allie because she was just too sweet and funny. "I miss you, too, Juliet! I'll try to come over spring break—I promise. La Push is just so far."

"I know," I said dejectedly. This whole situation with Paul and Kim and everyone else made me desperately miss having someone to share secrets with. It wasn't that I couldn't talk to Kim because I knew I could if I really needed to, but I knew Kim was on _their _side, not mine. Kim was from La Push, and she was in on the secret. I wasn't, and it didn't seem like I'd ever be.

"Don't be upset, Jules," Allie smiled, trying to cheer me up. "Tell me what's going on, and I'll try to help you figure things out."

I proceeded to tell Allie all of the events that had happened between Paul, Kim, the rest of their friends, and me. I had told Allie all of these stories before, but never very in depth and never at the same time. Maybe she would have better insight to these situations than I did since I was so close to everything.

Allie sat quietly concentrating on my words after I had finished. "So everyone is acting weird? Everyone in the whole town?"

"Well, not everyone," I thought of all the people I had met in La Push since I'd moved at the beginning of the summer, "just Kim and Paul and Jared and all the people they hang out with. Now that I think about it, it's not really anyone else."

"Hmm," Allie rested her chin on her hand in contemplation. She seemed like she was thinking hard about something. "Jules, I know you aren't going to like what I'm about to tell you, but I think you should just come right out and ask someone what's going on. Paul's probably your best bet if you really want to get an answer because I think he'll be the easiest person for you to crack. Kim will probably deny anything you bring up about this 'secret.'"

"So you don't think I'm crazy, right? You agree that there is something going on here?" I asked, hoping that she didn't think I'd turned into some loon since I'd moved to La Push.

Allie replied to my questions seriously, "You are not crazy, Juliet Hudson. If everything you have told me is true, there's definitely something going on in La Push that you're new friends are trying to keep a secret from you and everyone else. And I think that the only way you're going to get some answers around there is to confront your lover boy, Paul, about it."

"Paul is not my lover boy."

"Whatever, you know you want him to be. Don't deny it," Allie laughed, and shut off the video chat before I could reply to her last few comments.

I fell back on my comfortable bed, thinking about what I wanted to do next. Allie was right, I guess; the only way I was going to find out what I wanted to know was to ask Paul. He was the only one who would tell me, I was sure of that. I did feel slightly bad that I was taking advantage of Paul's feelings for me to find out the information I wanted to know, but it wasn't like I was going to bribe him or force him into tell me. Paul would be telling me out of his own free will, if he chose to tell me.

Leaving my room, I grabbed my keys off the peg the hung on by the back door. I threw on my brown North Face raincoat since it was slightly drizzling outside, and ran out to my cherished VW Bug convertible. I started Bettie (my car's affectionate nickname) up, and drove towards Paul's house. Though I'd only been to Paul's house once, and I'd been extremely hung over when I'd been there, I knew exactly where his house was. I guess the one memory I had there was memorable enough not to forget where it was.

Bettie maneuvered into Paul's driveway, and I sat there for a moment trying to get my courage up. Allie had made up my mind to do something about whatever they were hiding from me, but that didn't mean I wasn't nervous about confronting Paul about it. What if this secret was something bad? Like…I don't know. I just had a feeling that something extremely strange was going on.

When I had plucked my nerve up, I marched straight up to Paul's front door. I wasn't even sure if he was at home or not. Actually, that thought hadn't run through my mind at all. I knocked on the door with all of my mental might, and waited for what was to come.

"Juliet?" Paul looked confused when he opened the door and saw me standing there in front of him. He was wearing just a pair of gym shorts and his dark hair was all ruffled up; I couldn't help but admire his well-formed abs for just a moment. "What are you-?"

"We need to talk," I didn't let him finish his sentence. For a split second I felt bad because it looked like I had just woken Paul up from a nap or something, but I was too determined to find out the answers to my questions to care too much.

Paul looked a little taken aback before he opened the door, and invited me into his house. The house was just about the same as it had been the last time I'd been there, just a few things were moved around and the TV was on. Paul's mom was nowhere in sight. I had never met her before, but I knew she was a nurse at the hospital in Forks.

"What's this about?" Paul asked, looking a little nervous, after we both sat down on the couch in the living room. He ran a hair through his rumpled hair, and I think he was trying to make it look a tad more presentable.

My bravery was failing slightly. I had never even thought about what I was actually going to say once I got here in front of Paul. "Um, Paul, I need to ask you some things. I have some questions."

Paul nodded for me to go on with my questionings. I had a feeling he knew what I was going to ask him about.

"What are you guys hiding from me?" I asked. I was sure I didn't sound anywhere near as demanding as I had wanted to originally.

"We're not hiding anything from you," Paul wasn't looking at me. His gaze was focused on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

I stared at him. "I'm not crazy, Paul. I know you and Kim and Jared and everybody else are hiding something, something big, from me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," He continued to look anywhere in the room but in my direction. He was definitely lying. "We're not hiding anything, Juliet."

"But I know you are!" I cried out. My determination was rallying, and my courage was making a comeback. "Don't lie to me."

Paul turned towards me for the first time since our conversation had started. "I'm not lying to you. We aren't hiding anything from anyone. I think you're just reading into things more than you should."

"Fine," I huffed vehemently, standing up in a fury. Paul was pissing me off beyond belief, which was very strange. Paul normally made me feel a lot of different things, but he never made me mad. "If you want to be that way, then that is okay with me. Just don't act like I'm some crazy girl that's making something out of nothing because you know that isn't true. I don't know what the truth is, Paul Fisher, but you sure as hell aren't going to keep me from finding out."

With that, I stormed out of the house, Paul following behind me with his long strides. If I hadn't have caught him off guard with my escape, he could have easily caught up with me. I was practically running to my car by the time I reached the door. Paul was calling out for me to stop, but I couldn't listen to him. He had made me too angry at that point.

"Juliet, wait," Paul's voice cried out desperately. I didn't even look at him as I pulled my keys out of my jacket pocket, and unlocked my car. "Please, Juliet, you've got to listen to me."

I shook my head. He had practically just implied that I was a lunatic after I'd confronted him. That wasn't something that I could forgive very easily. I cranked Bettie, and put my seatbelt on in a hurry.

"Juliet, please," Paul's voice cracked as he bent down over my driver's side window. I looked at him, and our eyes connected. He looked like he was in utter pain. His brown eyes looked so sad and hurt. Maybe he was sorry for what he said. "I'll tell you everything. I promise, I'll tell you everything you want to know…Just don't leave like this. Don't leave me like this."

The determination and courage that I'd had gone my body in a flash, and I was left just sitting in my car wondering about the motivation behind what I'd just done. I paused. Maybe I should let Paul tell me, if he was offering. I took the keys out of the car, and opened the driver's side door. A look of relief washed over Paul.

"This doesn't mean that I'm not still upset," I countered Paul's change in mood, and his face fell somewhat. Paul wasn't out of hot water with me yet. I just wanted to know what was going on so bad that what he had said to me earlier wasn't as important.

Paul sighed, and rubbed a hand over his worn out face. "Just come back inside, and we'll talk, Juliet. I'll answer any questions you want to know."

I followed Paul back inside of his house, and we took the same seats that we had been sitting in earlier on the couch. If I hadn't known any better, the little fight we had seemed like it had never happened. Everything seemed just like it did when I'd first gotten to Paul's house, minus me being pissed off.

"Paul, what are you hiding from me?" I think I sounded more confused this time than I had earlier. I wasn't sure why. I wasn't sure about anything other than the fact that Paul was hiding something from me. "Did you all kill someone last summer or something?"

"That's not funny," Paul leaned back on the couch. He was thinking hard, maybe of a way to get out of telling me what was going on. "We didn't kill anybody. You should know better than that."

I sighed heavily. This was getting about as far as it had last time. "Well, when you guys don't tell me anything that's what you lead me to believe."

"I don't know if you're going to believe me if I tell you," Paul responded hesitantly. "If I tell you, I'm afraid you're going to be running out of that door screaming in a few minutes."

"Is it really that bad?" He had just said that they hadn't killed anyone and that I should know better than that. What could be so much more horrifying than murder?

Paul nodded grimly. "It's a long story, Juliet. I'm going to have to start by telling you some of the Quileute legends. Did you know that Quileutes are descended from-?"

"Wolves?" I finished his question before he got the chance to. Paul looked more surprised than he had when I showed up on his doorstep earlier that afternoon.

"You know about the wolves?" Paul's poor head was running in circles. I felt kind of bad for him. I'm sure he hadn't started off the day expecting to have a surprise visit from me, demanding to know what was going on.

"My parents are writing a book on the Quileute legends. My dad was actually talking to me about them today before I came over," I explained things to him. "What do the wolves have to do with this?"

"They have everything to do with this," Paul replied cryptically and his brown eyes darkened noticeably. I couldn't understand what he was trying to hint at. "Well, you know that Quileutes are originally descended from wolves, but not just any wolves—werewolves."

I laughed. "So are you guys, like, werewolves or something?"

Paul didn't reply. He just looked at me, not saying a single word.

There was no way…there was no way that Paul was a werewolf. Or Jared. Or Kim. Or Embry. Or Quil. Werewolves don't even exist. There is no such thing as a werewolf. "Paul, this isn't funny. You aren't a werewolf."

Paul made no response. Again, he just looked at me. This time, however, his eyes gave away everything. Paul really, truly thought he was a werewolf. I could see it in his dark eyes. Maybe I wasn't the crazy one, and he was.

"I should go," I made a move to get up and leave, but Paul gently grabbed my wrist to stop me. His movement startled me, but he hadn't hurt me. His hand closed around my wrist softly, and he moved my hand to where he was holding it tenderly between our laps. I stared at the show of affection.

"No," Paul's voice was strong, and something about it kept me planted firmly in my seat beside him on the couch. "You wanted to know, and now I'm going to tell you everything."

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Hope you enjoyed! **REVIEW!**


	6. The One Where She Knows

Sorry it has taken me so long to update everyone! Things have been really busy lately-I just got back from an amazing trip to Disney World with my awesome friends and next week I'm spending a few days in New York City. I'm going to see American Idiot two days before it closes so needless to say, I'm really excited. Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't forgotten about _Check Yes Juliet_, and that I will updating as frequently as I possibly can.

Thanks once again to my wonderful reviewers: **madsiemoo12, .WOLF, Stargazer1364, FreeRunner289, kikikiki, Munchkin Jeeves, Take Life's Chances, and CaitlinB54! **You guys are awesome, and everything I do is for you guys! Thanks to all the other readers, and I encourage you all to review as well :)

Without further ado, here is chapter 6 of _Check Yes Juliet_

Vi908

AN-I don't own anything Twilight related or Gilmore Girls

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"Juliet, I think you need to sit down. And breath," Kim tried to calm me down, but there was no stopping me. Paul had called her over for back up after I nearly had a heart attack when he told me that he was a…werewolf. A werewolf…a furry, large, man-eating werewolf. In fact, all of my new 'friends' were werewolves, except for Kim.

"Excuse me if I'm freaking out, but it's not every day that your friends tell you that their all werewolves," I nearly screamed as I paced around Paul's living room. I couldn't think straight; my thoughts were all jumbled up thanks to all the information I had just learned. My mind was running in about 5 million different directions, and it had been ever since Paul had decided to prove to me that he was what he said he was. However busy my mind seemed to be, it always ran right back to the horrific picture I had witnessed earlier.

I couldn't get the image out of my head of Paul exploding into a huge hairy beast. Where he had been standing was a gigantic wolf, and by gigantic, I literally mean gigantic. This wolf—I couldn't think of that thing as Paul—was about the size of a large horse with silver fur. Its eyes, however, were the only thing that reminded me of Paul. They were still the same warm brown color, and if it hadn't been for that similarity, I would have gone completely insane. When Paul saw my state of mind, he had quickly 'morphed' or whatever back into his human form, but that hadn't made things much better because he was completely naked. Needless to say, he called Kim over for damage control.

Paul sat sullenly in the corner of his living room while Kim attempted to quiet my loud cries of confusion. He looked dejected, but I couldn't really notice due to my being utterly bewildered. He had his head cradled in his hands, and every so often he would sigh heavily.

Kim looked at him with pity before she turned to me where I sat on the couch, a slightly angry look in her eyes. "Stop freaking out, and clam down. Do you see Paul over there? Do you see how awful he looks? That is because of you, Juliet. Paul is acting that way because of _you_. He really cares about you, and I know you know that. He knew that if he told you that you might have a reaction like this and hate him, but he told you anyways because you wanted to know. The least you could do is to be a little bit more open-minded."

"But he's a werewolf," I looked up at Kim as she towered over me, almost threateningly. "It's not like he just watched a movie online illegally, Kim. Being a werewolf is a bigger deal than that. How can you expect me to be okay with something like that? How are you okay with it?"

"Don't you care about Paul at all?" Kim scrutinized me critically. She stared into my eyes like she was trying to read my mind. For the first time, I felt like Kim was really mad at me. "Do you not have any feelings for him?"

I looked over at Paul, who obviously couldn't hear what we were talking about. He was too busy beating himself up over me being frightened of him and freaking out. Honestly, I couldn't deny that I had some feelings for the guy. Who wouldn't have feelings for Paul? He had been way too nice and too sweet to me ever since I'd met him, not to mention that he was extremely good looking. I didn't want to admit to myself that I had feelings for him since I had fought them so hard, but he was melting my heartstrings a little bit.

"If you care for Paul at all, in any way, you will walk over there, and you will talk to him and work things out with him," Kim advised me, her voice sounding a bit tenderer. She seemed a little less mad than she had a moment ago. Maybe it had just been the heat of the moment. "I understand this whole wolf thing scares you; it scared me too, at first, but I gave Jared a chance and look where we are now. You don't have to be okay with that right now, but you're hurting Paul. I can tell you don't want to do that."

Kim conveniently left the room to give Paul and me some space. She didn't leave the house, probably in case I had another panic attack. Paul was still positioned in the corner of the room with his knees pulled up to his chest, and I couldn't see his face. Was he really this upset because of my reaction to his secret? My heart ached terribly.

"Paul...," I called out to him softly. Immediately, his head snapped up in my direction. His eyes looked glassy and red, almost like he had been crying. I walked over to him, and took a seat on the soft carpet by him in the corner. "Are you okay?"

His eyes never left me, but an almost comical look came over his countenance. "I just told you I was a werewolf, and you're asking me if I am okay? I think something's wrong with this picture."

"You know what I mean," I didn't think this was the time to try and be funny. This was not a laughing matter. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"I know you didn't," Paul sighed, running a large hand through his shiny cropped hair. "It's not you. I'm not upset because of you."

I was confused by his statement. Well, even more confused than I already was—which was a lot, might I add. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I'm not upset because of you," Paul turned to me, and took my hand affectionately. I didn't even think about pulling away. "I'm upset because I know that I'm not good enough for you. And that you're scared of me, of who I am. I'm a werewolf, Juliet. To you, I'm a monster."

"You are not a monster," The declaration came out of my mouth without me even thinking about what I said. I just knew in that moment that Paul could never be a monster. He might have been a werewolf, but he wasn't a monster. "You aren't, Paul. You could never be, not to me. I know you."

"You just found out that I'm a wolf. You don't know the real me," Paul replied morosely. He dropped my hand, and turned his face away from me.

"I know that no one has ever been as sweet to me, as good to me as you have been since I met you at the beginning of the summer," I reached out, and took Paul's hand in mine. He remained facing away from me, but I could hear his breath hitch lightly when I touched his skin. "No monster could have been that way."

Paul turned to me, and our eyes met. For the first time, I truly felt like I was seeing Paul for who he really was. It was almost like looking into his eyes gave me an outlet into his whole being, into every facet of himself. Something about me changed in the moment. Whether it was my mindset or opinion on Paul, I couldn't be sure. I just knew that I was different.

* * *

Fall progressed quickly, as did school. At the beginning of the school year, I had thought my life in La Push had been normal, mundane even, but after I had discovered the secret lurking quietly in the background, life had been anything but boring for me. Of course I hadn't been able to tell anyone, not even Allie, what I had learned, but knowing the secret had opened up a whole new world to me. Like Kim, I was now in on everything the boys, or 'the pack' as we called them fondly, talked about.

"Are you going to Emily and Sam's tonight?" Kim asked me as we met up by our cars after school. We normally parked by each other in the parking lot every day.

I shrugged. "Probably. I haven't asked my parents, but there shouldn't be a problem. Do you want to come over to my house now? We haven't hung out, just the two of us, in forever."

"Won't your parents mind?" Kim asked as she threw her backpack in the trunk of her black Nissan Sentra. "It is kind of last minute."

"We can just tell them that we're working on a school project or something if they're bothered by you coming over," I chuckled as I saw Jared approaching with Paul and Seth in tow. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Jules," Jared acknowledged me before he turned all of his attention to Kim. By this time, I was used to him practically ignoring me whenever Kim was around. It didn't annoy me; they were in love, and while they could be kind of sappy sometimes, they were a cute couple.

"Hiya, Juliet," Seth smiled brightly. Seth was one of my favorite members of the pack. Since I had learned the secret, Seth had gone out of his way to make me feel comfortable around him and the rest of the pack. I really appreciated that. "Are you coming to Sam and Emily's tonight? There's going to be good food. You can't pass that up."

I laughed. "Seth, I think you guys are the ones who can't pass up food, whether it's good or bad, not me. And yes, I am coming."

"Good," Seth nodded, still smiling widely. His smile took up the majority of his face. While he was a year younger than me, he looked a lot older, and, like the rest of the guys in the pack, he was very buff and super cute. "Oh, there's Leah. I better go get in the car before she gets out and yells at me. You know how she can be."

A sharp honk was heard as Leah Clearwater had pulled up into the parking lot to get her little brother in her old blue Honda Accord. She, as usual, looked kind of pissed off, and was motioning violently for Seth to come get in the car. I was never quite sure how the two of them were related because they were such opposites.

"I'm glad you're coming tonight," Paul spoke to me for the first time since he had met me in the parking lot. I blushed, and I mentally berated myself. Unfortunately, I had started blushing a lot whenever I was around Paul. I wasn't quite sure why I had started blushing around Paul all the time because I had never been much of a blusher before, but I was getting tired of it. I decided to blame it on my stupid teenage hormones.

"I take it you will be there tonight," I stated as Paul opened my car door for me to throw my green North Face backpack on the backseat. Paul nodded. "Well, I'm glad you will be there tonight, too."

Paul smiled, and I felt myself blushing again. I quickly turned my face away from him, and acted like I was digging for something in my purse to avoid embarrassment. "Okay, I'm going home. I'll see you tonight, Paul."

"Be careful on your way home," Paul opened my driver's side door for me.

"Thanks," I said after I got in my car. It was nice to have Paul around because he was always such a gentleman. He opened every single door for me. "And you can tell Kim that after she gets done sucking face with Jared that she can meet me at my house."

Paul laughed loudly, and he and I both looked over to where Kim and Jared were intimately standing by her car. "Will do."

When I got home, the only person there was Heath, who was super busy laying on the couch and watching re-runs of _Gilmore Girls _on ABC Family. I wasn't sure what it was about Heath and _Gilmore Girls_, since it was a really girly show, but he loved it. It was his deep, dark secret that he made me swear not to tell anyone. Our parents didn't even know that he watched _Gilmore Girls._

"Hey, Jules," Heath said, while his blue eyes stayed glued on the TV screen. He was very serious about watching his shows.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" I asked as I hung my raincoat up in the coat closet by the front door. My parents were normally home all of the time. Because they worked at home, they didn't leave much.

"They went out for dinner in the city," Heath explained nonchalantly. "Something about their anniversary or whatever, blah blah blah."

"Oh, crap," I exclaimed suddenly, slamming my hand into my forehead. "Heath, we forgot Mom and Dad's anniversary, and this isn't just any anniversary. They've been married for 25 years!"

"Whatever, it's just 25 years. When they've been married for 80 years, come and get me and we'll do something big for them then," Heath paused his episode of _Gilmore Girls _so he could grab a soda out of the refrigerator.

I rolled my eyes as Heath sunk back down onto the couch like I'd found him earlier; I would figure out something to do for my parents later. "By the way, Kim should be over any minute, and I don't think you want her to know about your secret obsession with Emily Gilmore."

Heath jumped up quicker than I'd ever seen him move before, and turned off the TV. He sent me a death glare as he ran to his room down the hallway. I just laughed. My older brother was so weird, but I still loved him.

Kim walked into the house less than 5 minutes later. She had been over so many times since we had become friends, including during my 'exile' days, that she normally just walked in like it was her own house. She let herself into my room squealing.

"What are you so excited about?" I asked, puzzled as to why she seemed so enthusiastic. "Did you get a new puppy?"

"No," Kim smiled brightly, her white teeth shinning like pearls behind her pink lips. "I'm just ready for tonight. That's all."

"We're just going to Sam and Emily's. You know that, right?" I had started hanging out at Sam and Emily Uley's house ever since I'd found out the secret about the pack, but Kim had been spending time at Sam and Emily's long before I had. I didn't see why she was so excited about a regular night at Sam and Emily's house.

Kim put her hands on her hips. "I know that, Jules. It's just tonight you and Paul get to spend a little more time together."

"Kim…," I trailed off; unfortunately, I could feel my cheeks heating up slightly.

"What?" She giggled while looking at my no-doubt red tinged face. "I didn't say anything you weren't already thinking. Oh come on, I know you like Paul. You can't hide it any more. Just let it out and fly free!"

"I feel like you're talking about a bird."

"I'm not talking about a bird; I'm talking about your freaking feelings for Paul."

I sighed. "So what if I have some feelings for Paul? I'm not going to do anything about it. In a couple of months, I will be out of here. I won't be in La Push anymore, Kim. Do you realize that? I'm not going to start a relationship with someone only to have to hurt them later. That wouldn't be fair."

"You just don't want to put yourself out there," Kim's cute face of joy fell, and she took on a severe demeanor to her petite features.

"It's not that," I swore up and down. "I promise. I'm not afraid or anything. It just isn't fair to anyone. I couldn't do that."

"Whatever you say, Juliet," Kim said exasperatedly, collapsing on my bed. "You don't have to take my advice, but I think it's time for you to take a step back and look at the situation you're in. You've got some serious feelings for Paul no matter how much you try to suppress them. Something will happen between you two eventually. You can't deny it. The sooner things happen with you and Paul, the better."

After changing into a fresh set of clothes and convincing Kim that tonight wasn't about getting Paul and me together, Kim and I headed over to Sam and Emily's house in Betty, my cute little red VW Bug convertible. True to La Push weather, it was sprinkling slightly, but nothing bad enough to stop the night's festivities, so we kept the top up. Kim and I arrived fashionably late, and everyone else was already inside.

"Hey, you guys finally made it," Seth was the first one to greet us as we walked through the front door of Sam and Emily's small house. He gave each one of us a hug and a signature Seth Clearwater grin. "Now we can eat!"

"We aren't that late," Kim smacked Seth lightly on the arm jokingly before turning to scour the living room. "Where's Jared?"

"He's in the kitchen of course," Seth pointed in the direction where the smell of delicious hamburgers and hotdogs was streaming from. I was sure my stomach was growling very loudly. "Paul's in there, too."

Kim grabbed me forcefully by the arm, and dragged me into the kitchen. "Emily probably needs some help. You know how the boys get around food."

"Hey, girls," A cheerful voice sounded once we walked inside the kitchen. Emily Uley was possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever met, almost prettier than my best friend from home, Allie. Emily had that exotic look going on, with the same dark shiny hair and russet colored skin that all the Quileutes had, and she had almost immaculate looking features. They all seemed to fit perfectly on her face. However, Emily did have one flaw, and it was a rather large one. On the right side of her face, Emily had three long scars that marred her face, and pulled down the corners of her eye and mouth. While the flaw was big, once I got to know Emily, I didn't even notice it. She was too sweet and kind to even notice the one imperfection she had.

When I had learned how Emily had received her scars, I had been shocked. Paul had told me that werewolves were dangerous to be around when they got too emotional, but I had realized how true that statement had actually been. Sam Uley was the leader of the pack, or the alpha, and he was Emily's husband. One day, he accidentally lost control around her, and Emily was standing too close. Her scars are a reminder of what he did to her. Kim had told me about what happened to Emily so I would know ahead of time not to stare, but when I had asked Paul about it, he told me about how much it hurt Sam to see what he had done to her. According to Paul, Sam would never forgive himself.

"Hey, Emily," I smiled warmly. Emily was just one of those people who you could never get tired of. "Do you need any help?"

"Ah, a little bit actually," She smiled, and her face lit up. Emily looked beautiful when she smiled. Her smiled made it easier to forget about the scars that lined the right side of her face. "How about you two entertain the boys for me until dinner is done? Just get them out of this kitchen!"

"Juliet," Paul walked over to me smoothly, a small smile appearing on his ruggedly handsome face. "You're finally here."

"Kim and I weren't that late, Paul," I giggled, and hit him lightly on the shoulder. Even though I had only tapped him, my hand stung a bit from his hard werewolf muscles. I was going to have to remember to stop hitting the guys or I was only going to get myself hurt. "Just by a few minutes."

Paul's warm brown eyes softened as he stared at my face. "Well, it felt like ages to me."

Like Emily had asked, I led Paul out of the kitchen and onto the porch of Sam and Emily's small house. The porch was a tiny wrap-around one with rocking chairs and a cute little swing to boot. When the sun was going down, like it was now, the porch was really picturesque, almost like a romantic end to a day that you hear about in fairytales. I sat down on the small wooden swing, and Paul gently sat beside me. The swing shook slightly under his weight, but after a few moments it steadied.

"It's beautiful out here," I sighed, completely content. Ever since I had found out the secret, I felt like I finally had a place to belong in La Push. Everyone was so open now. I knew absolutely everything about the pack, and that was a good feeling. Now, I was just like Kim and Emily.

"Yeah, it is," Paul said dreamily. He wasn't even looking around like I was. He was looking at me. A few months ago, this would have made me uncomfortable, but something had changed between us since the secret had gotten out. I actually like the feeling of Paul staring at me—I thought I would have shuddered at earlier in the summer. "You seem happy."

I smiled, and I could feel my whole face growing. "I am happy, Paul. A lot happier than I imagined myself being in La Push."

"I'm glad," Paul's face appeared to light up when he heard my words. "Meeting you has been perfect. You've changed my life."

"What do you mean?"

Paul seemed to realize what he had said confused me a bit so he backtracked. "What I meant is that I've never met anyone like you. You're special, and not in a retarded way. In a different way."

"A good kind of different?" I laughed. Paul had a habit of talking himself in circles whenever he thought I was confused. It was kind of horribly endearing. I thought that was cute, and it made me want to vomit. Kim was right. I had it big time for Paul Fisher, and I could officially admit it to myself.

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